


Pleading Truths

by kahlannightwing



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: F/M, Food Porn, Guess before you read the end, Mystery, The character death is kind of a character death but not really?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-10-15
Updated: 2002-10-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:36:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22219420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kahlannightwing/pseuds/kahlannightwing
Summary: Old Summary: Like a good mystery? Think you can handle this one? Come see if you can guess what's happening to Vegeta. Even Bulma's worried about this one. Whatever could it be?New Summary: Something's up with Vegeta, and Bulma can't put her finger on it. What could it be? Will it affect the future? Will it affect whatever's blossoming between them?Warning: All the old school author's notes will be left in this work.
Relationships: Bulma Briefs/Vegeta
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

Bulma looked up in shock from the lunch she was preparing as she heard the definite sound of the front door opening and closing. She left the food cooking and headed toward the strange noise; strange, at least, for this time of day. "Yamcha?" It wouldn't be unusual for her boyfriend to show up unannounced, but after their fight the night before, it was highly unlikely he would come back to apologize now.

She entered the living room to find the door closed and no one in the room but turned at a sound, seeing something trailing darkness round the corner at the top of the stairs. Frowning minutely, she followed the figure upstairs, turning the corner just in time to see the dark edge of cloth disappear into Vegeta's room, the door closing firmly after it.

Bulma put her hands on her hips and allowed a scowl to alight her features. No need to let the jerk know how much he had worried her being gone all last night and half the day today. She stalked to stand in front of his closed door, an indication he didn't want to be bothered. Well, too bad for him.

"Vegeta! Where have you been? You missed dinner and breakfast!"

Her face reddened in anger at the growing silence that answered her from the other side. "And just what are you doing with my blanket? I was using that to get a tan and I expect-"

The sudden opening of the door and the aforementioned blanket thrown in her face stopped her tirade. "There! Now shut up and leave me alone!" The door slammed shut practically in her face as she yanked the burgundy blanket away.

She had to swallow a scream of rage, calming her ruffled feathers enough to purr out in a sickly sweet voice, "If your stench doesn't come out of this, I'll have to use the power to your Gravity Room to get it out. In other words, oh Prince, have you ever heard of soap and water?"

The grumbling that answered her was obviously meant to leave her wondering just what he had said. However, she was not going to humor him by asking. "Whenever your highness is clean enough, he is allowed to come downstairs and eat lunch. However, you can forget coming down wearing that BO cologne!"

The one word that answered her, sharp and staccato, named her a dog in heat. Bulma retorted in kind, albeit the masculine form, and stomped down the stairs to finish lunch.

* * *

She could feel his glare at her back as she prepared his third plate so that, perhaps, she'd have time to finish her first. She didn't acknowledge him as she turned and sat the plate beside the others at his chair. He directed his attention from her to his food as he took his seat, voraciously tearing into his meal as soon as he was settled.

Bulma stared at his inhaling and calculated that she'd get a few bites in before he demanded more as she sat to her own meal. “You know, if you'd stop this gone-all-night-and-morning thing you might actually find yourself less hungry at this time of day. Are you even getting in more than a meal a day? And when are you sleeping anyways?”

Vegeta ignored her, continuing his assault on his food and handing an empty plate to her with impatience etched on his dark features.

Bulma took the plate and went to refill it with furrowed brow. Usually he made a big deal about her nagging that brought out a semi-confessional designed to shut her up. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as she put down the plate, now full of food, and picked up another. Now that she had asked it, it didn't seem as if Vegeta was getting enough rest. There were deep, dark circles under eyes that stared blankly ahead, and his motions seemed a bit sluggish. His lips and black eyes stood out in sharp contrast with the pallor of his face, pasty considering his usual tan.

She sat back down after she refilled his second and his eyes glanced at her for not doing the same with the third. They quickly returned to the food though, dismissing her actions as unimportant. "Vegeta? Are you sick?"

Vegeta's head jerked up suddenly, the fork he had been holding clattering to the plate. He looked at her with widened eyes for a moment before lowering them back to the food and picking up his fork again with fumbling fingers, composure quickly recovered. "No."

Bulma raised a brow at his reaction. "Really? Why didn't that sound the least bit convincing?"

Vegeta's eyes again stabbed her, intense, dark, and angry. "Are you calling me a liar?" The voice had an edge that told her she better not be.

Bulma slowly brought her own food to her mouth, giving her time to consider her answer. "Not exactly. But something's wrong. That much is evident. This has gone on for almost five days and you look like you haven't been sleeping or eating well for almost as long. The Gravity Room logs say you haven't been there but for a few hours between lunch and dinner, and you aren't in your room. So, what exactly are you doing all that time, Vegeta?"

Vegeta glared at her, and that old ‘Namek feeling’ assailed her; the one that had shrieked when he touched down before them, sneering. Now he wasn’t sneering though. He looked dead serious in fact. “It’s none of your business, woman. You know, you’d do well to keep that nose to yourself. Some people would bite it off if it got stuck in the wrong place.”

Bulma colored at the offensive tone he carried. “Well sorry, Mr. I’ll-eat-your-food-and-use-your-Gravity-Room-but-you-can-forget-about-knowing-my-schedule! I just thought that maybe if you told me what was going on, I might be able to fix some food for you in advance, or at least open up a few places for you to sleep. Like a hotel or something.” She took a swallow of her drink, hoping it would help her cool down. Vegeta always got her so riled up, and so effortlessly too. “I don’t mind that you might want to train somewhere else. I’m sure all this human-ness gets to you, but at least take good care of yourself. I don’t want you to walk in the front door and pass out. I can’t drag your heavy carcass to your bed!” The last note was teasing, but Vegeta did not look as if he had noticed.

He looked at her with a strange expression, covering up whatever he would’ve shown by finishing his second plate and standing. “I’m going to train. Don’t bother me.”

Bulma rose and took his dishes to the sink. “Of course not! I’ll wait a few days before I fish out your rotting body that died of dehydration.... You know, sometimes overworking yourself can have the opposite-” She turned to address him to find the spot he had been empty. She let out a muffled sigh that bordered on an aggravated screech and turned back to the sink to start on the dishes. If he didn’t manage to kill himself, she was next in line to do it.

* * *

Vegeta’s right foot slid forward, his arms following the motion, one pulling back sharply to tuck into his side and the other sliding up to strike an opponent with the heel of his palm; a warning or critical blow, depending on his current mood. His mood right now had it crushing an enemy’s nose, crunching the bone hopefully straight up to the brain; a lethal hit.

He grunted and shifted his stance, turning with a fluid motion and bringing both hands back, thrusting them forward groin level and smirking at the imagined pain his opponent was in. He charged forward, feet sliding back to a cat stance and executing a flawless jump front snap with a sharp ‘kia’ that echoed in the domed room. With a hissing sound, he slid back to his original position, pausing for a moment to reflect on any flaws in his stance or arm positioning. He found the flaws and considered going back over the kata but nervously glanced at the clock that told of the impending night. He didn’t have time for it.

He ground his teeth and stalked over to the console, wondering if there was any way to block the ‘logs’ the woman was watching. She was inspecting these logs, checking his room, doing everything short of wiring him with a hidden camera, in order to figure out where he was going and what he was doing. He almost punched the thing, but that would only create more problems.

He did let off a ki blast, listening for the satisfying crunch as it impacted the wall behind him and feeling the weight inside lift somewhat. He really wished he could tell the woman what was going on. Maybe she could.... He dismissed the thought quickly, shaking his head and exiting the Gravity Room. He glanced at the sky, not noticing the colors of the sunset so much as he noticed that the sun was setting.

He grunted and quickly took to the air. It was better not to risk it here; to go somewhere secluded, although it always ended at the same place. He wondered at that, but those thoughts only led to what the woman had said.

‘I just thought that maybe if you told me what was going on, I might be able to fix some food for you in advance, or at least open up a few places for you to sleep. Like a hotel or something.

...at least take good care of yourself. I don’t want you to walk in the front door and pass out.’

He had been shocked. Though, by her actions when the Gravity Room had exploded, he shouldn’t have been. But he could count the number of times someone had said something that made them sound like they cared or were even concerned about him for him, not for his usefulness on one finger; now two fingers.

He snorted and landed in the desert where he and Kakarott had first fought. He looked around, his eyes sliding eventually to the horizon and the sun that was just vanishing below it, taking in a deep breath to prepare himself....

Gut-wrenching pain, his very body feeling as if it was being torn apart. The sensation of falling and never hitting the ground. Time and reality spun dizzily inside his head and he was cradling it as the pain reached a crescendo that kept rising, bubbling like a geyser. He could not find release in his power. In fact, his ki lowered drastically through the whole ordeal, which was far from ended.

He gritted his teeth and felt blood fill his mouth as he bit his tongue, not even registering the pain as he felt every cell in his body, every fiber of his being, cry out in mortal agony. He joined that cry, voice hoarsely filling up the desert around him, sending animals that lived there scurrying for cover. He screamed long and lustily, trying to alleviate the pain with the sound that soon became lost to the horrendous sensations.

Suddenly, all sound stopped. The silence stretched for long moments before he blinked bleary eyes and raised his head wearily, taking in his surroundings with some confusion. He gave his head a shake and tried to rise, feeling much too drained to do so. He surrendered to the sleep without question, fading quietly to black.

* * *

_Running...clean wind.... Scent...woody, heady, fresh.... Ground crunching...aching legs.... Stilling, slowing down, stopping. Scent...musk...dizziness.... Turning slowly... wind teasing.... Scent...prey._

_Running...scent...sound...fear...heady, strong, wild. Sound...panting...rasping breath...white mist.... Scent...heady...fear...close. Turning...skidding...never slowing...._

_There! White...flashes of white...fear scent. Sweat...heat...closing. White...leap...grab...pull...fall._

_Shake...red...warm.... Backing up...coming in...liquid warmth...tasting.... Satiated._

_Tearing. Leaving. Traveling...night. Stop. Dig...earth...cool. Dropping. Cover. Mark._

_Traveling...._

_Stop. Scent.... Moving...slowly...slinking. Sound.... Leap...roll...tear...gnash.... Warmth.... PAIN! Tear, rend, mangle.... Stop. Pant...scent. Mark. Leave._

_Tired. Night fading. Lay down. Cool. Warm. Content._

_PAIN! Scream...._

* * *

Vegeta came back to himself with a heart-wrenching screech forced from his lips. He lay on a forest floor; the one he knew was behind Capsule Corporation, his body wracking with pain-filled tremors. Slowly, he felt his pulse calm and steady. His power came back to him, albeit lower than it should have been. He feared he was being drained, slowly but surely.

He raised his head, feeling an incredible dreariness thumping it back down to the cool ground. He winced. Every muscle was still screaming in protest, every bone aching. It felt like his whole body was simultaneously burning and freezing. He took in a deep shuddering breath and forced the pain to the back of his mind, forcing back the drowsiness as well.

It was morning...again. He groaned aloud and tried to sit up, succeeding in doing so only on the third try. His entire body trembled and he had to hold himself up with both hands, trying to stop the spasming of his muscles. He could feel warmth seeping from his right thigh and brushed against it with a hand clumsily to bring the appendage back darkened with his own blood. Darkness crept in the edges of his vision and he suddenly leaned over, violently and thoroughly dispensing the contents of his stomach.

He heaved until he thought his throat would be ripped out and shakily leaned back on his elbows, away from the pile of red liquid, trying not to study it. It was obviously meat of some kind. He just didn’t want to know what. He finally pushed himself back up, using a hand to wipe his mouth once he was steady. He blatantly ignored his nakedness. He was used to it by now.

Feeling the drowsy warmth once again try to overtake him, he gritted his teeth and rose in one pain-filled motion, drawing a moan out from his unwilling lips. He leaned heavily on a tree, pressing his face against the bark. The woman was already suspicious. Perhaps, if he returned in the morning, instead of letting himself rest as he usually did, he would assuage some of her qualms.

He took an unsteady step, then a second. A root suddenly popped up underneath his feet from his fogged surroundings and he sprawled gracelessly to the ground, trying to stifle the choked yelp that, nonetheless, exited his mouth.

He cursed in his native tongue for several minutes before rising, inspecting his now bruised ribs with a warrior’s accuracy. It would be nothing if he weren’t so weak.... He ground his teeth, wanting to scream and rage that he was a Prince. He wasn’t weak!

Swallowing the futility of such words, he again rose, with less pain this time, though it still had him swaying on his feet, and continued on, allowing his mind to fall into a numbing stupor as he made his way to his bed and blissful sleep.

* * *

Bulma stared out worriedly as she watched the dawn approach. Vegeta had left right before sunset according to the Gravity Room logs. He wasn’t in his room and he hadn’t come home yet.... She was worried. This was just not like Vegeta. Sure, he had taken off unannounced at times, but she didn’t think he’d ever done so and come home looking as if he was starving of food and rest.

She frowned as she noticed something coming out of the mist that clung around the small woods around Capsule Corporation. In keeping so many stray and unwanted animals, Dr. Briefs had insisted they make the forest behind them a reservation.

Bulma opened the glass screen door where she had been standing since about five that morning and stepped out to peer at the shadow coming toward her. It looked like it walked on two legs, but it was hunched over, as if in pain. She took a step forward and the black shadow jerked to a halt.

It weaved back and forth for a second, obviously seeing her but not knowing what to do about it, seeming as if it would topple at any time. Bulma tried to see through the murkiness surrounding it, not daring to take another step forward. All of this left the taste of a cliqued horror movie in her mouth. “Vegeta?”

The figure jerked again and quickly turned on its heel, vanishing into the still dark like a wraith.


	2. Chapter 2

He woke to the feeling of the noon sun filtering through the tree leaves above him to pierce straight through to his eyes and groaned. If he’d thought he’d felt horrible when he woke up yesterday, today was worse. Every muscle creaked out a protest as he sat up and held his head in his hands against the oncoming wave of dizziness.

He looked around, finding himself still in the woods out back of CC. Wasn’t he going there to get rid of any suspicions the woman had? Had he passed out—? No, he’d gotten all the way there, not even realizing he had done so until he had noticed the figure in front of him; in front of the door. He couldn’t see who it was clearly and stood there, wondering if he had enough energy to streak past the person, until he heard them call his name.

He had turned and quickly gone the other way, not quite making it to where he thought there would be shelter before he collapsed.

He rose fully, wanting to get back to CC as quickly as possible. It wasn’t as hard as that morning, but it was certainly harder than the last four times he had to take this path home. In fact, if he hadn’t known better, he’d say that blackness at the edge of his vision was him about ready to pass out again. He gritted his teeth and growled.

He approached the edge of the forest in a more cautious manner than before. This time he wouldn’t be caught halfway out by an inquisitive woman. Plus, he was naked still, and he’d probably need to requisition that blanket again to cover himself. It would be just what he needed to walk in naked. Not that he was modest or anything; he wasn’t ashamed of his body, just that the woman would freak and he happened to have sensitive hearing.

As he’d suspected, but hoped wasn’t so, the woman was waiting for him outside the door. She was stretched out on her stomach on the very blanket he needed facing Capsule Corporation and seemed to be immersed in some book. She wore a bright red bikini that left absolutely nothing to the imagination, especially from his rear point-of-view. Every once in a while, one shapely leg would kick up.

Vegeta realized he had been staring when she suddenly flipped over and he had to duck down with a bitten-off curse. He had been leaning forward toward her!

The woman was purposely there. She usually fixed lunch around this time, which was why he tried to hurry in now. And she just happened to be conveniently sunning in the back lawn in front of the door. He had simply grabbed the blanket all the last times and sneaked to the front to avoid her. Now, he had a dilemma.

Since the woman seemed to be deliberately staging this ambush, he didn’t think using his speed would do. She had probably locked the door or something equally aggravating. And the front would be out of the question for the same reason. He didn’t think he would be able to handle flying now either, not if just standing made him dizzy.

He shook his head and sat down where he was in a lotus position. He might as well try to be comfortable. The woman could only keep up the pretense of sunning so long as the sun was up…. As if to argue against him waiting that long, his stomach gave a long and loud grumble.

He stifled a curse and looked to see that the woman had indeed sat bolt upright, book forgotten beside her as she looked directly into the woods. She stood quickly and used the blanket to cover herself as she peered into the woods. “Vegeta?”

He cursed quietly. Now, if he didn’t answer, she’d probably think him some wild animal, which might put her back into the house, but with the blanket. Plus she’d probably relock the door so he’d have to knock. He could just imagine her reaction when she opened the door to see his state of undress.

“Vegeta?” She started taking cautious steps back and he again cursed and stood, moving so that just his head was visible through the brush. It looked as if he had no choice.

“Yes. It’s me.”

She gave out a sigh of relief and started forward.

“Stay there!”

She stopped, looking confused. “Are you alright, Vegeta?”

He sighed with exasperation and moved a hand into her line of sight, waving it to show his mobility. “I’m fine. Throw the blanket this way.”

Bulma looked down at the blanket she held and then back up at him, taking another tentative step forward. “Why? What’s wrong?”

He growled at her, causing her to again pause. “I said stay back! Just throw the blanket or I’m leaving!”

She blinked several times, until it finally dawned on her the position he was in, the bushes hiding certain parts of him, though his chiseled chest showed enough. He was amused to see her blush almost as red as her bathing suit. “Oh.” It was quietly spoken, but quickly followed by the blanket being tossed, which he easily caught and wrapped around himself, hiding most of the bruises and cuts as well.

He stepped out of the bushes and briskly walked toward her, trying to act as if neither he nor she knew he was naked. Well, at least he got a good look at her without the towel, the shape and cut of her bathing suit accenting her toned stomach, among other things. That was a plus. Highlight of his day, in fact.

She moved to one side, eyes following him as he reached the door and tried the knob. Locked, just as he’d expected. He turned to her impatiently. “Let me in.”

Bulma’s demeanor changed, her flush from briefly exposed legs and torso that his movements revealed vanishing as she crossed her arms just below her chest, as if she was flaunting to him. He ignored it and stared directly in her eyes. “No. Not until you tell me what’s going on.”

Vegeta tossed his head angrily. “I don’t have time to explain it. Let me in! As you clearly heard, I’m hungry!”

Bulma peered closely as she advanced on him. “You look tired too.” She gave him a once-over, her blue eyes traveling down his entire length until he thought he would start squirming. Her eyes widened at his feet and he looked down to see dried blood on them. “You’re hurt!” She was moving toward him as she said it.

He tried to negate that, remembering the wound he had felt on his thigh, and back up at the same time. However, the door at his rear, his nakedness under the blanket, and the fact that she was already close to him, prevented him. She soon was bent down over his leg and it was all he could do not to kick her back. As it was, he jerked the leg as she grabbed his ankle.

She looked up at him with narrowed eyes that said she meant business. “Stop that! I’m not going to hurt you! Now, where’s the wound?”

He glared right back down at her, still only meeting her eyes despite his advantageous height. “My thigh, which I doubt you can view with me like this. It’s a small wound; already stopped bleeding. I’ll treat it. Once I get inside!” He pronounced the last sentence very clearly, almost leaning down into her face if he wasn’t afraid it would show too much. Since when was he this modest anyway? Stupid human ways! He was beginning to adopt some of them!

She nodded silently and stood up, moving him to the side gently and taking out her keys. He waited, stifling the need to hop from one foot to another, and squeezed around her as soon as the door was open, dashing to his room to close and lock his door before she could protest.

* * *

Bulma hummed a little tune as she led the serving bots to the Gravity Room. The twelve bots behind her obediently followed her like a group of ducklings, all laden with as much food as was required to feed a Saiyan Prince and herself. Bulma had made sure to include only his most favored foods. She was going to be punishing him after all, might as well put some honey with the sting.

After the shadow she now knew was Vegeta had fled that morning, she had seriously considered calling Goku. But she had quickly retracted that idea. It was hardly a secret that Vegeta held an animosity for the younger Saiyan, though Bulma thought it might be for more than just that Super Saiyan thing. And how could she call Goku, make him stop his important training; according to her future self, very important; to look for what she thought was Vegeta? If it had been him, he would be hiding his ki, and he’d rather attack Goku than talk to him and come back home.

She paused right before the door to the GR. Had she just referred to Capsule Corporation and Vegeta and used the word ‘home’? She smiled softly to herself. Well, it wasn’t like she could imagine this house without the volatile Prince. In fact, he added a quality she hadn’t known was missing. Her parents were much to complacent, as she found out when the arrogant man had moved in, demanding what he wanted when he wanted it and not a minute later. She enjoyed their verbal spars and had a small hunch that Vegeta did too, considering he hadn’t blasted her or left. And that was why she had to do this.

She focused in on the area of the floor to the right of the door and raised a brow, bending down and picking up the burgundy blanket. She had been lying when she’d said she’d have to wash it. She liked the Prince’s—scent. And boy, was that an unusual thought.

The blanket being right outside the GR worked as more than a reminder of his presence though. It also signified her own predictability. He knew she would be showing up to check the logs and see when he had left.

So, Vegeta thought he knew what she would do, eh? She smirked and pressed the emergency shutdown button.

She didn’t even let the sound of a giant thud quite end before she opened the door and darted in to a stream of curses from the just-rising-from-the-floor Prince, where he had landed when she’d shut off the gravity. After all, the high gravity would cause one to strain up, and when the gravity vanished, one would continue to go up, which resulted in one coming down; hard.

Vegeta’s head whipped around to the source of his sudden weightlessness and he growled. “What do you think you’re doing, woman? I’ve told you about messing up my training befo—” He trailed off as he noticed the line of bots that came in after Bulma, carrying enough food to feed both of them. His eyes narrowed to suspicious slits and he rested both hands on his hips. “What’s going on?”

Making the picture of innocence, Bulma sweetly smiled. “Well, since you always leave before you can eat dinner, I thought it would be nice if we could go ahead and eat dinner a little early. You don’t mind, do you?”

Vegeta looked at her with some confusion for a moment before turning to try and circumspectly look at the clock. Considering it was behind him….

He turned back around. “Actually, I do. I don’t want dinner. I’m not hungry. I have to leave.”

Bulma rolled her eyes, reaching a hand over and depressing the button to shut the door. Again without looking, she typed in a code on the keypad at the bottom of the button and Vegeta heard a solid click. “You Saiyans are always hungry! Besides, where in the world would you have to be at this time? Sunset isn’t for another twenty minutes.”

Vegeta grimaced. So this was where that part that was wholly her mother was hiding. She’d turned it manipulative. It was definitely something he would do. “Did you lock the door?”

Bulma widened her eyes, staring at Vegeta’s own narrowed ones in mock-shock. She transferred that gaze to the keypad. “Did I? Oh dear me!” She turned back and her expression was one of sadistic joy. “Oh well. I guess now you can’t leave…I’ve forgotten the code to unlock it. Oh, that’s right. It automatically unlocks after three hours. What do you know? I’m such a gen—”

“Shut up!” Vegeta had, by this time, advanced on her until he was just inches from her face. “I can jog your memory for you, woman! That I promise you! Open it!”

Bulma smirked at him, dropping the innocent tone altogether. “N-O. No, Vegeta. You see, while you were upstairs dressing, I assume, I redid the lock on this thing. There is no code to unlock it. I set it on a timer instead. A timer that will, conveniently, end after whatever happens to you happens.”

He stalked off to the other side of the room, presumably to keep from hitting her, and turned on his heel to stomp back. “How do you know something ‘happens’ to me, woman? How do you know I don’t leave to have some tryst with some Earth woman? Hmm? What if it’s a Saiyan thing?”

Bulma raised a brow. “Oh, that is the lamest thing you have ever said. I think that tops Goku’s ‘we can’t hurt Gero, he hasn’t done anything yet’ by a thousand points. Why would you stoop so low as to have sex with a weak human? And a Saiyan ‘thing’? If you told me you were going into a heat or something, I might buy it. But a ‘thing’? What, they didn’t call it anything, Vegeta?”

Vegeta’s complexion darkened and Bulma started. Was he—blushing? “Is it a heat?”

“No!” He stomped off again, this time to regain his composure, and came back to face her; tan normal but eyes and manner still livid. “It’s not that! We don’t do that! But if you don’t let me out by sunset you’re going to find out what it is!”

Bulma nodded and went to take a seat over at a bench, motioning a bot carrying steaming meats over to her. “I know. Now, are you sure you’re not hungry?”

Vegeta threw back his head and let out a scream of rage, catching Bulma unaware as he literally threw himself at the keypad and tried to rip it to pieces, eyes wild and breath lurching from his throat. She stared at his actions wide-eyed before moving to him in growing alarm. “Vegeta!” He continued, oblivious to all else around him, tearing the thing with fingers that started to bleed from the maltreatment.

He was suddenly spun around by one shoulder and slapped on the cheek. The blow hadn’t hurt in the least, hadn’t even moved him an inch, but the effect was like a shock of cold water and he blinked at the blue-haired female standing over him, her eyes glazed with worry. “Vegeta! Snap out of it! That’s not going to open the door! Tell me what’s wrong! Maybe I can help or—something!”

He blinked blandly at her again and felt her take his hands in her own, mumbling about him being stupid. She clumsily wrapped the burgundy blanket he had left outside the GR for her around his torn fingers, until he took it from her hands and carefully wiped each nail, ignoring the nips of pain from torn skin.

He stood quickly, trying to brush aside the panic that still wanted to fling itself at the very walls and claw his way out. He glanced at the clock. Ten minutes. He had ten minutes.

She noticed his gaze and dared to take his hands in her own. “Vegeta, please. Tell me what’s wrong. I’ve never seen you like this. Just tell me what the problem is. I won’t tell anyone else, I swear…. Just—please….”

He started at the pleading note in her voice and turned his head to the side. If he didn’t tell her something, she would be here when it happened…. “Woman…I don’t know. I don’t know what it is. All I know it that from sunset to sunup I’m somewhere and someone else. Woman, you have to let me out. I’ve woken up at dawn sometimes and—disgorged…fresh meat.

He turned back toward her, and she caught a glimmer of desperation in his black eyes. “I’ve got less than ten minutes to get somewhere where—whatever happens can happen with no one near. If it helps, I always wake right in that forest, where you saw me this afternoon. You can come, bring clothes or something. But don’t come any earlier than dawn….” The pause from one sentence to the last was significant.

“Let me go, woman.”

Bulma’s mouth opened and closed several times before she silently nodded and moved to the keypad. Vegeta had just possibly come the closest to asking for something she had ever heard. She typed in the code quickly. “I’ll do some research. Try and find out what’s wrong.” The door opened and she heard a grunt before a blur of blue and black swept past her, ki trail the only indication that it was Vegeta.

“Kami.... I’ll find out what’s wrong….”

* * *

Vegeta flew as far and as fast as he could. Even so, he faltered halfway to his destination, realizing that the sun was setting and he was over a forest he didn't recognize, one that might have people in it. He couldn't land here.

So he veered off his course, intending on at least hitting the edge of the woods, off to the right of his intended target, but well away from civilization. He didn't even make it that far. He watched the sun set with trepidation and suddenly curled inward as the pain once again ripped through him, new as the first time it had struck him.

He felt his throat clench around the screams that always came out, trying to swallow unsuccessfully. Like a tidal wave the pain surged around him, carrying him this way and that until it deposited him to smack into the cliffs, his form folding in on itself and dropping from the sky as if a boulder tied it down.

He felt his body bouncing off of tree branches, flopping like a rag doll until he met the ground, but barely registered the pain his fall from six miles up caused for the pain as changes in his body occurred. Muscles elongated, shrunk, were created, or just disappeared. Bones cracked and popped as they shifted and morphed into a different structure. His very chemical make-up changed, altering his ideas, attitudes, and memories. Everything that was Vegeta became something else as the man himself threw back his head from where it lay on the impassive earth and screeched his agony to the equally uncaring heavens.


	3. Chapter 3

Bulma nervously watched the words flow by on the screen in front of her. So far all she had gotten were tales of aliens and out-of-body experiences. Well, Vegeta was an alien, so that was laughable, and he hadn't said anything about viewing himself as being out of his body; like a ghost drifting around and following his empty shell of self.

Bulma shuddered and chastised herself for all those late-night thriller movies. Really, with all the monsters and threats already in her life, she didn't need to watch them on TV.

Bleary eyes glanced up at the clock and away, latching back onto the clock with surprised wideness. It was one in the morning? And she'd still found nothing....

She sighed heavily and continued to search, typing in the weirdest things she could think of: vampires, werewolves, fairies...anything that could cause a man to forget whole nights for almost a week. Her eyes flicked on link after link after with seemingly no change in content. Most were so far-fetched that she had to laugh.

'My Life As A Vampire: How one kid survived grade school', 'Werewolves: Demons among us', and 'How the Fairies Charmed Me' were among the titles. She had a feeling that last one had a double connotation and winced when she saw the author's name. Master Roshi. She shrugged. Who would've guessed?

She quickly scanned the rest of the articles and leaned back with a weary sigh. Why couldn't she find anything? Maybe it was something limited to Saiyans or aliens. Seriously though, she doubted that, or Vegeta would've had some hint of what was going on.

She sighed again, took a sip of her coffee, and grimaced at the icy coldness of the liquid. She shrugged again and drained the rest of it, more concerned about the caffeine than the taste. She leaned in toward the computer and typed 'transformation'. Instantly several results came up, all main categories. There were werewolves and vampires again. Let's see; gargoyles, dragons, unicorns, dryads, sorcerers, magic.... She stopped suddenly as her eyes hit the next result and she recalled Vegeta's words.

_‘I’ve wakened up at dawn sometimes and—disgorged…fresh meat.’_

She grunted and put her mouse pointer on 'shapeshifters', clicking on the link and coming to a page full of other links. There was werewolves again, animals, sorcerers.... She sighed. There was a lot. Well, since it was fresh meat, that meant that it might be animal, although Bulma's eyebrows rose at the very thought of Vegeta turning into an animal every night. She clicked on it and gave a frustrated screech as yet another page of choices came up.

Wolf, cat, bear, dragon, dog, cow, meditation to accomplish, journals.... She glanced at each and decided her safest bet was the journals. At least she might get a myriad of examples there. Perhaps there was some truth to them....

Another page came up listing the various journals of people who all claimed to have shapeshifted into an animal. She chose the first journal, and, as the page loaded, got a fresh cup of coffee. She would need it. She sat back down and started into it.

‘…shapeshifting can be divided into three levels…. First is the cellular shapeshift, which is when a shaman actually shapes into a jaguar, or a warrior hunter shapeshifts into a tree or animal of any kind.’

‘…taking on the shape of the animal is not particularly dangerous. I had only one glitch, and that was in the form of a panther, where I had to learn to control the beast and not let it run away with my (or its) strength.’

It was things like this that Bulma found, the second one being the only one in which someone said they had physically changed…. She shook her head and looked back up at the clock, gasping as the hands indicated it was nearing dawn. She darted out of her chair and practically ran upstairs.

She paused outside his door. She’d never been in his room; never wanted to be in his room. The way he looked after himself at mealtime, not at all, and demanded immediate service, told her the man would have a pigsty for a room. So it was, when she opened the door, that she was pleasantly surprised.

The room was meticulously neat. Everything seemed to have a place that was just for that item. The armor was lined up in two neat rows two deep along the wall underneath the window, the bodysuits hung in the open closet on hangers, not a wrinkle in sight. There was nothing but a lamp on the nightstand and nothing on the dresser at all. A pair of extra boots was to the side of the dresser, near the door of the closet. Even the bed was tidy, covers tucked in as correctly as she’d ever seen them done by her mother. She herself certainly wasn’t this tidy.

She sighed and moved to the closet, pulling out a black bodysuit. Sure he didn’t wear that color, even though she had made it for him. He preferred the blue, but she thought he looked better in the black.

She rolled her eyes as she picked up the boots. Here he was, somewhere in the woods, with Kami knew what wrong with him, and she was worried about how good he looked.

She paused before his dresser, blushing as she realized she had to get his underwear. She steadied herself, cursing her timidity, and slid open the drawer, secretly relieved when only gloves greeted her. She picked a pair and closed the drawer, opening the one below it without thinking about it and pulling out what was needed, quickly closing the thing back and stuffing the underwear between the gloves and bodysuit, stifling the need to groan at her own inability to touch a man’s underwear. It wasn’t like she hadn’t touched them before…just, not Vegeta’s.

She glanced around, wondering if the man used the drawer in his nightstand or not. She didn’t have time to check though, he would be—well, whatever he did, right now.

She hurried out the door, closing it behind her, and flew down the stairs, concentrating on keeping what was in her hands in her hands while not falling at the same time. She rushed through the house, to the kitchen, and ran out the back door, pausing to snatch up the burgundy blanket that was quickly becoming a sign of Vegeta’s ailment.

She threw down a capsule, revealing a motorbike once the dust cleared, and putting the items she had collected in its satchel, hopping onto it and revving the thing up to rush off into the mist-filled woods as the early birds chirped their morning song.

* * *

A groan issued through the woods, one that was deep and pain-laced. The mist curled around the tree trunks for a moment before the rising sun’s rays struck it, causing it to shrink back as if stricken by a dreaded disease. The mist uncovered a form, naked in the merging sun, which twitched on the forest floor in obvious distress.

Vegeta’s eyes opened as he gasped in air he hadn’t remembered holding. He glanced wildly around, senses not accepting his surroundings with any amount of clarity. He remembered the woman trying to corner him, crashing through the trees, and now he was back in the woods behind Capsule, disoriented and wondering why in world he couldn’t seem to catch his breath.

He spent a few more futile moments trying to pull breath into his lungs until he stopped completely, working on easing his panic and racing heart at the same time. He tried to think of something, anything, which would return him to a state of normalcy, and immediately latched onto the image of Bulma as she had been yesterday; sunning on the burgundy blanket, tanned and toned leg kicking up as the red panty-like part of her bikini rode up just a little further.

He grunted as things came into focus and his heart slowed, his anxiety eased, and he finally took a deep, true breath of air, blessing whatever gods there were for the ability. He grunted again from his position on his stomach as he felt a certain body part trying to push its way into the ground underneath him. Oh yes, he was definitely normal.

Slowly, he moved his head, wondering at his immobility. His own body prevented him from seeing much though, so he moved it.

Shooting pain sparked through his leg all the way up his spine and reached his head so fast he gasped aloud, breaking the dawn stillness with the stark sound. He had managed to throw himself to the side a little though, despite the fact that he had bitten his lower lip.

He raised his head, feeling the beginnings of the weariness that always struck him creeping in. As he viewed the source of the pain, he let out a soft yet severe curse.

The steel teeth of a trap were set firmly and deeply into his ankle. The ankle itself looked to have been half severed, probably from the trap springing. The area around the wound was an angry red set off by streaks of blue and purple that were surely bruises. What disturbed him most about the wound as his head lowered and he drifted off to an unsound sleep was the fact that right above the ankle, it looked as if the leg had been gnawed. As if he, or something else, had been trying to free him by taking the whole foot off.

Imagining himself without a foot was, in and of itself, enough to make the blackness consume his entire vision as he relinquished himself to sleep.

* * *

Bulma revved up her motorbike, worriedly peering around the forest for even a glimpse or sound of the proud Prince. She had been searching for two hours straight and she had yet to find anything.

“For Kami’s sake! By the time I find him, he’ll be heading for Capsule already! I should’ve put some kind of tracking device on him or something!”

She slowed down the motorbike and then stopped completely. She stared down in frustration at the path she was taking. Wait a minute…. If Vegeta were transforming into some kind of animal, would an animal stay on the trails? That one journal had said she’d had to ‘control’ the animal. So basically, Vegeta was all animal when he was animal. There was no Vegeta unless he could control it. Since he knew nothing of what happened, she doubted he could.

So, he was either prey or predator. Both prey and predator tended to stick to the trails at night, for hunting and to keep everyone in their ‘family’ in sight. However, daytime would mean people out on the trails. So they would go off of them, taking to the densely wooded areas that closed her in on both sides.

She bit her lip as she looked at the shadowed trees. They created a zigzagging path that was broken by vines holding thorns that promised to scratch skin and catch on clothes. Heaving a ragged sigh, she threw her leg over the bike and climbed down, encapsulating the thing and stuffing it in her belt.

Well, might as well start. With the motorbike not being able to transverse the twisted path the woods weaved, it would take a little longer to find him, but find him she would. After all, she might get to see something that would give her a hint as to what was happening, what he was turning into.

Hours later, she was cursing, swatting bugs, and wincing as thorns and the occasional rebellious branch tore her skin or snagged on her clothes, pulling her back and causing her to maddeningly slow down to a pace that was torturous on her nerves. She stopped and took a deep breath to calm down, wiping off the sweat on her forehead with one grimy and scraped-up arm and grimacing as she imagined the streak she had probably left in its wake.

Her head snapped around as she heard a very faint sound not ten paces to her right. Her blue eyes narrowed as she tried to see past shadows created by a sun and wind that made the branches sway and warped everything around playfully.

Again she heard the sound, soft, almost questioning. Without considering, she moved towards it, and stilled suddenly. What was she thinking? She was in the woods, there were all types of creatures back here! But what if it was Vegeta; too injured or tired to make his way back to Capsule?

Gritting her teeth, Bulma gripped her items and plunged toward the sound, driving through the thick brush that kept her from its source. She plowed out the other side, stumbling as she came upon a small clearing. In the middle of the clearing was not at all what she expected or wanted to see. And it saw her too.

The black bear had been scratching its back on the huge pine, and that is what had made the noise, which now sounded more like the creaking it had been. The bear paused upon seeing the flurry of movement that was Bulma push out of the brush and landed with a solid thump onto his four huge paws.

Bulma and the bear shared a look of equal wonder before Bulma’s and the bear’s attitudes took a turn. The bear thrust out its neck, opened its mouth, head cocked to the side, and roared at the intruder with lips pulled back from white serrated teeth and pink gums. Bulma gave a shriek of terror and bolted back the way she had come, hearing a snort and a galloping that indicated the bear had full intentions on following her and ripping her to shreds. Giving another ‘eep’ at the mental image, she quickened her pace.

* * *

Vegeta groaned, coming awake for no reason that he could fathom. Sleep hung on the fringes of his consciousness like a warm blanket, trying to pull him back into comfortable oblivion, away from the pain that had become his life; not the mention the bile that tickled the back of his throat. Something tugged on his senses though, and he strained to pick it up, warrior instincts whisperings alarm bells in his head.

He stiffened and suddenly jerked, pulling back with a grimace as he yanked the tied-down foot. Somehow, he knew something was wrong; namely with the woman. He could sense her ki in the woods, off to his left somewhere. It looked to be colored with scarlet, bright and distracting, that he identified as fear. She was running from something? Yes, that was it. Something big was chasing her.

He grimaced again as he instinctively tried to move. That’s right. As of this moment, he was immobilized by a piece of metal. With a grunt of effort he tried to bend at his waist, or at least twist around so he was on his back. Neither motion worked, leaving him gasping for air, as he had been when he awakened that morning. He pounded a fist into the ground in pure exasperation.

Taking a deep breath to clear his pain and sleep-cluttered mind, he raised the hand he had just hit the earth with and filled it to the brim with ki, his last reserves if he was correct. He carefully directed the hand to his backside, aiming for what he hoped was the chain. If he could get the foot released from the ground, even if not the trap, then he could at least maneuver himself enough to get the trap off.

He grunted with effort as even the simple movement of his hand caused the chain to jerk. He gritted his teeth until they seemed about to crack with the force and let the blast go, feeling it connect and crying out as his skin burned when the ki blast brushed his leg traveling down to the chain, which snapped as soon as the blast made contact.

He stifled a ragged sigh of relief as he tenderly moved his hand down to his leg and brought it above the ground so he could turn around and bring it to his stomach without jostling it.

He grunted as he viewed the damaged appendage, noting that he would not be walking on that leg for quite a while. He couldn’t fly either. That minor ki blast had definitely been his last reserve of energy. He could probably pull out more, but the effort would knock him cold for several days, maybe even kill him if he burned himself out.

He ground his teeth and tried once again to think of the blue-haired vixen lying on that cursed blanket as he grabbed both sides of the trap and pulled.

He heard foreign sounds coming from his throat and doggedly held onto the image in his head as the trap suddenly let go of his ankle with a sickening sucking sound, flesh and pieces of bone coming out with it. He heaved the thing to one side and gasped aloud as the full onslaught of pain from his freed leg hit him, almost sending him onto his back.

He could feel himself swaying and reached out a hand blindly to the ground to hold himself up as the scenery swayed and his stomach lurched. Gods, a few days ago an injury like this could never had happened, could never have affected him like this. How had it come to be that a simple piece of metal could keep the Prince of all Saiyans bound like a newborn?

He shook his head from side to side gently, regaining his equilibrium in slow increments. This was taking too long. Whatever was pursuing the woman was stronger and faster than her. He had to get to her now….

A look of distaste crossed his features. So he’d have to resort to something not practiced by his race in millennia. The last person who had accomplished it had been the Saiyan of legend, and he was dead now.

He brought his hand back around and his other joined it in securely holding the burning wound as he leaned in toward his stomach. He closed his eyes, fighting back the drowsiness that tried to suck him downward and focusing on the pain. What was the pain? Nerve-endings; torn, broken, rent apart by steel and sharp edges; nothing more than an illusion. Pain was an illusion. The injuries were an illusion. His hands glowed briefly with ki as it was transferred to his injured ankle in soothing waves.

He breathed a sigh of relief as the pain slowly faded from his awareness, brought down to a soft throbbing that could be controlled by his indomitable will. He opened his black eyes and smirked in triumph. It seemed he had done what not even the Super Saiyan of one thousand years ago had been able to accom—

He let out a scream as the pain flooded past the weak barriers he had made against it and laid him flat on his back, the leg wrenched from his grip with flaming agony. All the time that the pain had spent behind those barricades it now made sure Vegeta felt.

And this was why the Legendary Super Saiyan had failed. He too couldn’t keep the pain away as he burned himself out with his own power. And so, in trying to heal himself, he had killed himself.

Vegeta’s eyelids fluttered for a second before his body slumped and black orbs rolled to the back of his head, closing with a sigh of defeat.

* * *

Bulma again shrieked as she ducked her head, a massive paw swiping the air where her head had been. She let out a loud and vivid curse that did nothing for her situation and rolled to the side instinctively as the bear suddenly picked up pace and barreled forward with a meaty roar.

Her roll carried her to the base of a bush, which grappled with her clothes for quite awhile, allowing the bear the shake his own head from a bash against a tree trunk and turn to her, roaring and charging once again.

Bulma screamed as she struggled with one particularly stubborn branch that continued to stick to her clothing. Finally, with the bear’s hot breath hitting her, she threw herself to the side, hearing cloth tear and the bush itself rip as the bear skidded on it to try and catch her spin with a snap of its jaws.

She had barely rolled to a stop when she felt the ground shake as the bear again lumbered toward her, a half-mad roar accompanied by spittle reaching her ears. She darted up, lungs aching with the need for more air than she was able to give them, and dashed through the trees, hearing the bear push his way through behind her.

She saw a clearing ahead of her and tried to force her throbbing legs to move faster in that direction. However, the combination of weariness and the sudden pressure on her back as claws ripped and shredded it were enough to throw her forward uncontrollably. She felt herself spinning wildly and came to land on hard ground, collapsing without a sound into unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The two quotes are actual quotes from two sources! Cool, eh? The article titles are fake….
> 
> The first is from: http://www.ofspirit.com/carolbedrosian9.htm
> 
> The second is from: http://www.witchs-brew.com/shadows/animals/shapeshifting.html
> 
> So, the writing there is not mine.
> 
> Ah, those are the biggest hints you’ll be getting…. Let me give you a freebie: Yes, there is a change of form involved. However, all of you who have guessed are wrong. Yes, you may freak-out. However, some of you are partially right. Here’s another freebie, since I’m feeling oh-so-generous, take what you’ve guessed and turn it inside-out and backwards and you’ve got it. Also, this is a true mythology, not just something my crazed mind made up in a Vanilla Coke/Mint Skittle binge.
> 
> Finally, if I can get it uploaded…. Whoever guesses correctly, or guesses as close as one can get, will get—*drum roll*—DBZ episode 141—Bow to the Prince in mpeg format…. Yes, you did hear correctly…. So, guess already! There can be multiple winners!
> 
> SMDSP: I’ve been here, lurking…. Very good guess. Wrong. Heehee This is fun! You are almost correct.
> 
> SkittleKicks: Wrong. Almost…. How is it—modified?
> 
> Honeybear: Thanks. And your guess is?
> 
> Meowythecat: Thank you. I hate run-of-the-mill B/V’s, don’t you?
> 
> JadedBest: Ugh! Get Goten out of here! Dang Kaka-clone! And ChiChi does not make the best! Look at Gohan…. ^_~ No, no, and no. But you are close. What’s Vegeta’s guess, just so we can get an educated response here…. Ah, more naked Veggie—and a hard-on! *gasp* An ant? Lol Okay…. So, what are you on? Besides your boyfriend…. *sadistic grin* Vegeta, say ‘moo’ for me. See? He couldn’t do it. He can’t ‘milk’ that part! LOL Oh, cheesy!
> 
> Bulma: Nope. But that is the coolest answer I’ve gotten yet. He is indeed obsessed with his training, but he’s hardly getting to train now…. You’re right on some points.
> 
> Aeris is dead: Actually, there is no moon. I didn’t even mention it. Piccolo blew it up….
> 
> Louie: Thanks! I’ll try to make you wait…. School—you know the deal….
> 
> Susan: Good job catching the ‘cache’ thing. I didn’t think anybody would. No…. Not actually. I just—like this topic and have studied it a little. *sigh* I think it’s running away from me. You know, ‘Oh, I’ll finish this story in no time…. ACK! No! Don’t do—SHOOT! Thirty more chapters?’ Killing spree? Wow! Cool! Vegeta on a killing spree? That’s—original. (Sorry for the sarcasm…. But 20 years under Frieza is enough of a killing spree for Vegeta, don’t you think? Then again, it’s enough torture too…. *shrugs* Oh, well) We’re never gonna let her live that down…. Raw meat is good. I love medium rare steaks—and worms…. HEY! I got $5 for eating that thing!
> 
> Chibi: Okay…. Done.
> 
> Hetchi: Insane? Going? He’s already there….
> 
> Kat: Ah, Wolf. That was an awesome movie!!!! I loved it. Only werewolf movie I like. You’re kinda right….


	4. Chapter 4

A groan echoed once again through woods that were becoming quite familiar with such sounds. A blue-haired head was cradled in two hands as the once-unconscious woman rose into a sitting position, eliciting another groan with the movement. She blinked blearily; then found that she would be able to see if she removed her hands from her eyes.

Letting out a stifled curse, she did so; then gasped as what exactly, or rather who, she had rolled into.

Vegeta, a very naked one, was lying on his back to her left, body slightly askew from where she had rested against him in her fall. Trying not to think about the unlikely coincidence of being chased to him, or his own lack of clothing, she brought her knees under her and quickly rolled the body all the way over, letting air out in a sympathetic hiss at the wound on his ankle that immediately became apparent.

She had no idea what could cause this much damage to a Saiyan, let alone knock him out, but had no time to search for the answers. Vegeta’s face was pale and drawn and a light sheen of sweat covered his whole body it seemed. His brows were scrunched in obvious pain, and when she touched his arm lightly, he flinched; making a low keening sound in the back of his throat that had her immediately moving to his leg.

She had to get him stabilized and to CC. The first thing was the leg. She pulled out a Capsule and let it go in a poof, opening the kit that had appeared and pulling out not only bandages and sterilizers, but the strongest painkillers she could find.

She winced as she patted the wound with a damp cloth and the leg jerked, another sound issuing from the tortured man’s mouth. Okay, painkillers first.

She quickly set up the needle and moved Vegeta’s arm carefully onto her lap, using an elastic band that she haphazardly tied to show the Saiyan’s veins better. As she inserted the needle, her hand traveled down to Vegeta’s. She had never actually seen his hands, since he was almost religious about keeping gloves on them at all times. The fingers were surprisingly long and narrow, looking more like an artist’s than a mercenary’s. She’d expected him to have thick fingers that were callused. He must’ve had the gloves on forever to keep that supple soft quality.

Vegeta moaned and turned his head toward her, eyes still tightly shut, and the hand she was gently caressing closed around hers. The grip was not painful, or even very constricting, so she simply ignored it as she pulled out the syringe and undid the elastic.

Black lashes fluttered and cracked lips moved slightly as the Saiyan regained some of his lost wits, eyes unfocused as they tried to lock on her. “Wha—”

“Hush. It’s me. I gave you a sedative, so I can stabilize that leg and get you to Capsule. What hap—” The question died as the Saiyan let out a mumbled sentence and closed his eyes, the sedative obviously working fast on the weary man.

The grip on her hand loosened, she moved once again to the leg, this time cleaning and bandaging it without a word of protest from the Saiyan Prince. With a relieved sigh that she had gotten to him in time, Bulma threw a Capsule in the air and used the burgundy blanket to cover Vegeta’s nakedness; face flushing at the assets the Prince had.

With a roll of her eyes; only she would think of that at a time like this; she popped another capsule and ordered the bots carrying the cot between them to carefully lift Vegeta and place him on the makeshift carrier, picking up that and trailing her like obedient pups. Luckily she knew Capsule was to the North, so she just pulled out her compass and started out, bots and unconscious Vegeta following along.

~<*>~

White walls greeted blurry black eyes as the Saiyan slowly and painfully sat up, holding one side of his head with a hand that shook a little. The hand blocked one of his eyes, so the other one peered at his surroundings with a bit of confusion and unfamiliarity. A light sound came from his right and his head moved; his unoccupied hand quickly brought down behind him to steady his suddenly spinning vision at the too-rapid movement.

A blue-eyed face swam before his eyes, framed by cropped blue-hair. He blinked a few times before his vision cleared enough that he realized the pink lips moving were issuing out words.

“Wha?” Instead of the steadiness the word should have contained, it came out slurred and husky. A tongue darted out to touch cracked lips only to slip back in as the Saiyan had to swallow a couple times in order to produce enough saliva to wet his dry tongue.

The blue-haired person leaned forward then, half coming out of her seat, and reached toward him. He retracted involuntarily, eyes narrowing to predatory slits. She leaned back just as quickly, her hands coming up in a defensive yet calming gesture. “I said, you should lay back down and get some rest. But if you want to lose what that IV’s been pumping into you, go ahead and try to stand. I don’t think I can put you back on the bed though.”

He turned to what she indicated and noted the pole and the bag filled with clear liquid attached to it. A thin tube went from the bottom of the bag to the inside of his elbow and he made a tiny noise of discovery, the sound coming out smoother with a now moist mouth. That was where one of the sources of his discomfort originated from.

He stirred to remove the irritating thing with the hand he had been balanced on and winced at the shriek that followed his movement. “Don’t do that! You’re dehydrated, not to mention malnourished! That’s probably the only thing your system can handle right now. Unless you feel like my cooking.”

He turned back to her, eyebrows knitted in confusion at the sarcasm attached to the last, and watched with interest as her face paled steadily. “Vegeta?”

He mulled over that one word in his head. It was familiar to him…. With a gasp that had him leaning forward with a grimace, everything came back: the pain of whatever was happening to him for the last week, the woman questioning him, telling her to come to the woods to get her off his back, waking up with a sense of her being in danger and finding his foot caught in a trap, trying a technique that had failed miserably…and the last memory; a blurry image of the woman whispering to him through his pain, a faint feel of her hand in his.

He straightened as quickly as he had gone down, making Bulma squeak in surprise and straighten herself, as she had been about to touch him; see if he was alright. He threw back the covers that hid his legs, earning a gasp from the woman as his naked body was freed to the air. She sat down quite suddenly, her knees weak for obvious reasons that he did not notice.

There. His ankle was one red, blue, and purple mass of torn and swollen tissue. He let out a hiss and hesitantly reached down the hand that had covered his face, carefully feeling around the wound. It was the biggest source of his discomfort obviously. It didn’t hurt like it should, which told him the woman had put him on some pretty strong painkillers. He remembered her saying something about that.

“How long will it take to heal? Will I retain full function of it? And what happened to you out there?” He turned to her, noting that she was half out of her chair again, blue eyes wide at either his sudden movements or his string of harsh questions, probably both. Wait, he forgot that he was naked. He mentally shrugged. Sometimes it was good to keep the woman on her toes.

Bulma stuttered for a second, forcing her eyes away from toned abs and a perfectly chiseled chest to focus on his questions and they way they were spoken as she sat down once again. Her eyes lingered on flexing biceps despite herself and she felt a flush rise on her cheeks. Why couldn’t her dirty little mind focus on something other than what was in front of her? “Um, well, I would say, with your stamina and quick healing time, maybe a week? I don’t know if it’ll regain what its lost though. If I can get a senzu bean, that would speed things up quite a bit….”

The last was more of a question than a statement and he raised a brow. That’s right, Kakarott would have the get the bean, and then he would know…. “What about the Namek? He’s usually pretty neutral about these things.” At least he kept his emotions in check.

Bulma nodded. “I guess. You know where he is?”

Vegeta nodded back. “Training with—” ah, “—Kakarott.” He smirked with irony. “Any other ideas?”

Bulma sighed, wishing the Saiyan Prince didn’t have to be quite so stubborn. “Maybe. You can levitate, right? You could take me up and I’ll get it.”

Vegeta mentally probed himself, frowning when he felt just how low his ki was, almost non-existent. He hadn’t…?

Bulma noticed the look immediately. “What? What’s wrong?” Her voice took on a hurried quality that spoke of someone who hadn’t slept in a while and was near hysterics.

Vegeta masked his features and eyed her calmly. “I need rest and so do you. We’ll discuss this when we awake.”

She huffed at his use of his commanding voice, the one only someone of royalty could possibly emulate. “Yes, your highness.” Despite her words, she stayed seated in her chair, blinking at him.

“I believe your rooms are elsewhere?” A raised eyebrow followed the question. He knew he looked good, but this was ridiculous.

Bulma rolled her eyes. “I know that, Vegeta.” She managed to take on a long-suffering tone. “However, with the way you’re acting, I’m not leaving. I can sleep right here. Besides, I want to know how,” she pointed vaguely at his leg, careful not let her eyes follow her finger down his body, “that happened. Did the bear do it?”

He frowned slightly. “Bear? What bear?”

Bulma paused. “Okay, scratch that theory. I was being chased by a black bear. He hit me,” she stretched slightly and he noticed her wince, “and I—rolled into you. I assumed you woke up and scared the thing away and it injured you.”

“No.”

She blinked. “Boy, that was an informative word there, Vegeta…. So, if you don’t remember the bear, what did happen?”

He shrugged, looking partially disinterested on her sarcasm. “I woke up and found my foot caught in some kind of steel trap. The ones you humans use to trap—animals.” His jaw clenched and he turned his head away, moving the blankets so that they covered him again.

Bulma let out a tiny breath when the temptation was removed, though she cringed at the reason. The Prince of Saiyans being compared to some Earth animal. That had to sting. “The bear must’ve assumed we were dead or something and left.” She squirmed again. The claw marks on her back were starting to irritate her. She’d forgotten about them until she mentioned them to him, that and she was more worried about him than herself.

He raised a brow at her movement and the wince that accompanied it. “What did you do this time, woman? Pull a muscle?”

She rolled her eyes and let out a huff of breath. “Oh yeah. Did it carrying your fat behind upstairs. For a man who isn’t eating enough, you sure make up for it in weight. I think you could beat the fattest person in the world weight-wise—and eating-wise.”

He smirked at her. “What? And take away your crown, woman?” He ignored her reddening face and twirled his finger in a circle. “Turn around. Let me see. You said that bear hit you.”

Bulma’s mouth opened in protest and then closed. It wasn’t like she could actually see the injuries, after all. She turned around in her seat and felt a hand on her shoulder guiding her back. Her shirt was pulled down and a low whistle sounded. Her eyes widened. “What? It’s not that bad, is it?”

There was a pause. “I’m afraid it is…fatal in fact. You probably have six to eight months to live, woman.”

She let out a dry laugh. “Jeez, that was just hilarious. Don’t strain yourself with the jokes there, Vegeta. You might break your funny bone.”

He responded in a serious voice that had her chuckling, as the shirt was pulled down further, fingers lightly trailing around the torn skin. “I don’t have one funny bone in my body, woman. You’re just in denial.”

She pulled away at the touch. He was making it itch. “Whatever.”

The fingers retreated. “Get me a cloth, some cold water, and some warm water and I’ll take care of that.”

She frowned as she obediently turned around and stood up, glancing at him as she made her way to the bathroom that adjoined the infirmary. “What’s the cold water for?”

She could hear his smirk as she entered the bathroom out of his line of sight. “Me, of course.”

She rolled her eyes and did as he requested, returning and setting down the water and cloth beside his bed. She scowled at him as he turned in the bed so that his legs hung over the edge, everything appropriately covered, and used one hand on her shoulder to guide her back down, the other reaching for the cup of cold water and draining it in two gulps.

She heard water swish around, the sound of a cloth dripping, and then the trickling as water was wrung out of it. She flinched as she felt the cloth lightly touch her back and tried to relax as it was guided gently over her back, the rough surface pulling at the scabbed areas and the water stinging the wounds. “Jeez! Gentle there!”

A snort sounded behind her as the cloth continued its smooth rotations. “I can’t help it that you’re skin’s so weak, woman. Relax! Close your eyes and think of something else.”

She did as requested—demanded. Unfortunately, the only thing that came to mind was a naughty picture of Vegeta lying naked in the woods.

The cloth paused for a moment before continuing. “Are you blushing?”

Her eyes snapped open and she almost spun around but for the hand that suddenly clasped her shoulder, holding her in place. She once again heard his smirk. “What are you thinking of, woman?”

“Nothing.” The word came out strained and was accompanied by an amused chuckle from behind her.

“Oh, the money I could make on porn movies if I could read your mind….”

“Would you shut up and finish already?”

The cloth was removed and splashed into the bowl of warm water. “Done.”

She raised a brow and turned. “Really?” She met two amused black eyes and couldn’t stop a groan. He’d never let her live this down…

“Why? Want to go back to your daydream?”

…point proven. She knew she had to be red as a beet. “Yes, actually. Yamcha looks very good.”

Vegeta raised a brow as he faced forward in the bed, turning slightly and adjusting the pillows behind him so that he could lean back on them. He did so and let the smirk widen a bit. “Very good, eh? That’s as bad as my ‘Saiyan thing’. Isn’t the word you’re looking for sexy?”

Bulma rolled her eyes. “Well what did you expect me to say? So I think of guys other than my ex. So sue me!”

Vegeta’s own memory took him back to a certain red-bikini clothed woman. “Hn. I suppose. Anyone I know? Kakarott, the Namek, Baldy?”

Bulma made a face at each name; then smirked, her eyes flashing. “Your baldy or mine?”

Vegeta grimaced at the thought of Nappa having any kind of—physical appeal. “I know you have better taste than that!”

She laughed lightly, her eyes widened as the laugh changed to a yawn that made her jaw creak.

Vegeta followed suit not a moment after. “Stop that, you’re contagious! Go to your room and get some sleep. Wake me two hours before sunset.”

Bulma stood and then paused, her brows rising on her forehead. “Vegeta, it is two hours before sunset….”

He glanced out the window with wide eyes to view the outside world, gray skies forecasting rough weather ahead. He cursed in his native tongue for almost half a minute while Bulma sank back down in her seat. “What can I do?”

He turned to her with a speculative gaze she almost twitched under. It was like he was suddenly questioning her motives. Now, as long as he didn’t actually ask—

“Got a cage of some sort?” He knew he didn’t have the energy to make it anywhere right now. Knowing his luck, he’d just end of up spewing everything as soon as he moved, much as the woman had predicted.

She shook her head. “Since I don’t know what happens, not one I think would hold you. You might become stronger.”

He shook his head immediately. “I wouldn’t have had a problem with that trap then. No. I get weaker. And every time I change back, I get weaker still.” He turned away from searching blue eyes to look at the knees that were hid by the blanket. “I think I’ve burned myself out. I don’t know when I’ll regain my power, or if I will.”

Bulma half-gaped at Vegeta’s turned face before closing her mouth. She paused, about to say some apologetic clique that would mean nothing to the Saiyan Prince. Biting her bottom lip, she tried logic. “Vegeta, you need a senzu—”

“No! You are not getting that third-class idiot into my business! I’ll heal regularly. What we need to worry about is nightfall.”

Bulma rolled her eyes and stood up, towering over Vegeta with a glare. “Goku would never get anything out of this; not ammunition, not glee, not anything!” She visibly calmed herself, raising both hands at the agitated Saiyan and sitting back down slowly. “Listen, I’ll tell him it’s for my back, okay? He doesn’t have to know a thing.”

He blinked at her tactical switch and wondered if the woman studied strategy. That was a disarming move right there, sacrificing her own pride for his. It didn’t make him feel good.

She continued despite his lack of response, glancing out the window with the trepidation he always had toward the horizon. “There is one place that’s like a cage. We know you aren’t—intelligent enough to actually be able to push buttons and set up codes, so the Gravity Room would be a good place to set you up for the night.”

He nodded mutely, following her gaze out the window.

She glanced at him while he seemed distracted, struck by how his profile seemed so—strong in the fire that burned the sky. “I-I can get some food, water, anything you’ll think you’ll need.” The stutter was hardly noticeable, but he was one for noticing such things. He turned and looked at her, caught by blue eyes that shimmered in reflected red light. He’d never really liked that shade of blue before….

“Do you want me to call Goku now?”

The whispered words brought him back from wherever he had been and he lightly frowned at himself. “Might as well. You don’t know where I’m at.”

Bulma nodded as she stood. “Where who’s at?”

Vegeta gave her a smirk as she departed; then leaned back into the pillows with a sigh, letting sleep that wasn’t caused by unconsciousness or drugs overtake him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nope, ya’ll are wrong again…. <.< Kami! I need to get AWAY from the south before I turn into a redneck, or, worse yet, white trash! *scream* *deep breath* Okay, better now. Here. I’ll give you the biggest hint yet, since a huge hint comes in Chapter 6. Whatever has happened to Vegeta, it has to do with Japanese mythology. It is a very hard thing to find. I found only one source on it. Keep in mine the deviousness that is the author…. No, he is not a modified Oozaru. That would take at least a tail…. Some of you came up with some really good and original guesses! I’m so proud of my readers! ^_^
> 
> Chapter 5 is a break for all my readers. LEMON! My first! But it’s good, I swear! Come on, look at my limes! Heehee ^_~ Review and the lemon will be out Fri or Sat.
> 
> Elbereth in April: Thanks. Enlightened? Me, enlighten someone? LOL Not Likely…. ^_~
> 
> Ssjprincess: You almost got it in that first guess…. ^_^ Ah, no. Dinosaur big…. Trees still up surrounding Capsule. I think a dinosaur’s passage might be noticed that close to CC. No again. Spirit guide would be something else. Dragon I do believe…. You know, medieval kind that ate virgins? Heehee…. I wish Vegeta would eat m—ah, Nevermind. Actually, you’re right there. The word for what is happening is in that chapter…. It’s in almost every chapter. Is it in this one? Hmm…. Black bears…. Mean things. I’d rather go against a psycho human than an angry black bear!
> 
> JadedBest: fine. You just won’t get the prize if you guess correctly. I’ll keep Vegeta kicking Cell’s butt all to myself! “I am Super Vegeta!” Cheesiest Vegeta line ever! HA! I have devised a way to get Goten out of this fic for at least one chapter! I wrote a lemon! There’s no way in any Hell that ChiChi will allow Goten to read a lemon! I am Supreme! Ahem, actually Vegeta is next chapter…. Heehee. I think I Mary-Sued myself as Bulma…. O.o; BTW, no with the lizard and you know the ant’s ridiculous. You’re making Kakarott-like guesses just to pester Vegeta and me, aren’t you? >.< HA! It will never be a big lizard!
> 
> Pen Dragon: You’re right that coyotes will do this and you’re in right family, but it’s not a coyote. Nope, jaguar is wrong too. I just quoted that for other reasons…. Heehee Ethric? What is that? Not in my dictionary. Hm, didn’t know that. Though I think that happened in Brahm Stoker’s Dracula. Hey! Good imagery that would be…. I am writing a vampire story….
> 
> OujonoSuki: Woah! Switch to decaf dear! Either that or go burn off that energy in my story LPP…. Ah, you could at least guess. No one’s right yet….
> 
> Susan: He is not a coyote, but you are in the right family. You’ve seen one? I hate traps! HATE! Don’t give up. Bulma’s turn to daydream, eh? Definite attraction. Prepare for the lemon next chapter. All these attractions reach a head…. Bad pun! Have your koi close at hand to blow off steam…. I’m full of puns today…. ^_~ you are very close with the coyote chewing his own foot off, but you’ve got the wrong animal. *sigh* This is just too much fun.
> 
> Don’t become discouraged people. All who’ve come close will get the gift. I may even have something special for all who did guess…. I am a nice author…sometimes. ^_^


	5. Chapter 5

“Ok…. Yeah…. Thanks, ChiChi. See you later.” Bulma hung up with the phone with a tired sigh, turned around, and let out a long and shrill scream, falling back against the wall behind her.

“Jeez, Bulma! That hurt!”

Bulma swung a hand at the orange-clad man who was holding his ears, successfully whacking him on the side of the head as he was occupied with trying to restore his hearing. “Kami! Why don’t you try not being such an idiot? Can’t you not just pop up out of nowhere and scare the living daylights out of people?”

Goku blinked, rubbing the spot where she had whacked him. “But I didn’t ‘pop up out of nowhere’. I was at home.”

Bulma sighed. “Nevermind. Senzu.” She held out a hand imperiously.

Goku lifted an eyebrow and fished the bean out of his pocket. “Are you okay? I mean, ChiChi said something about a bear….”

Bulma took the senzu and stuck it in her pocket. “Fine now. More scared then anything else. It was a black bear. Wolves won’t even tangle with a black bear.”

Goku looked as if he was slowly processing that information. “Wow! So, how did it hurt you?”

Bulma shrugged. “It hit me across the back, knocked me out a for a few minutes. I think it thought I was dead and left me alone. I’m at least thankful of that!”

Goku nodded seriously, then gazed around with an open expression, grinning. “Where’s Vegeta?”

Bulma shrugged. “I have no idea…. He comes and goes as he pleases, the inconsiderate bas—”

“So, you guys getting close?”

Bulma stuttered at the unexpected question; then watched in amazement as Goku clapped a hand to his mouth. “Um, byegottag—!” He vanished before the sentence was finished.

Bulma shook her head, eyes still a little wide, and decided to chalk up the weird behavior as ‘Goku’ like she chalked up grumpiness as ‘Vegeta’. Her and Vegeta—close? Well, she thought so, but how in the world Goku could’ve known enough to even ask was so—Goku; definitely Goku-like.

Speaking of the inconsiderate one…. She started up the stairs, easing the door slowly open and peeking into the room. She slid through the door and closed it softly behind her, walking as softly as possible to the chair and soaking in the sight of a sleeping Vegeta. How could he keep that scowl on his face?

Despite her quietness, Vegeta’s eyes slid open and his head turned to her with a curious expression. She held up the bean in explanation and watched as he tried to sit up.

“Stupid! Here.” She quickly moved to him and handed him to the bean. He scowled at her for a moment before taking the senzu and popping it into his mouth, swallowing it dry.

“Jeez, Vegeta! At least take some water with it!”

He frowned at her as he waited for the effects to kick in. His whole body jolted slightly as if shocked and he stifled the sigh of relief that wanted to escape. The drugs had begun to wear off.

He started to swing his legs around and stopped to hold his ears when she shrieked. “Woman! You can do that to Kakarott all you like, but you do it to me and I’ll rip your tongue out!”

Bulma’s screech immediately halted on her lips and she scowled at the man. “You’re naked, Vegeta!”

Vegeta smirked, tilting his head to get the full benefit of the reaction he knew was coming. “What? Can deal with the fantasy but not the reality. I’m probably better than your wet dreams.”

As expected, her face went two shades of red from embarrassment and anger. Just how close he was coming with those words Bulma did not want to think about. “Oh shut up and let me get out of here so you can get dressed. Meet me by the Gravity Room when you’re done. I’ll bring some supplies with me.”

He nodded, the mocking smile still gracing his lips, as she turned and tried to hide her mortification by quickly striding to the door and exiting the room. He’d never let her live that down.

Vegeta chuckled as she exited. The woman was so entertaining. He’d hate to think of how bored he would be if he were living with anyone else.

With those thoughts and none of his present problems pressing on him, Vegeta rose and quickly dressed. It was easy to push thoughts away he didn’t want to have, but the sun’s fast falling made him frown nonetheless. He quickly dressed; leaving his boots off; pulled something out of the drawer of his nightstand, and hurried downstairs.

Bulma was waiting for him by the GR, a pile of stuff in her arms that he raised a brow at. She took the expression for what it was and explained as she turned and opened the door.

“I got some meat from the kitchen I was going to use for dinner. Steaks and the like. Raw, since you seem to like that.”

She paused, uncomfortable, and a hand at her back pushed her forward. “I know what you mean. What else?”

“Oh, a couple blankets, a pillow, a change of clothes. I’ll hide all these. You can just come out when you need to.”

Vegeta eyes narrowed as he looked over the Gravity Room, taking in the structure. It would hold him…he hoped. His black eyes met hers as they gazed worriedly at him. “I’ll be fine, woman. You know I turn into an animal. What else did you find out?”

Bulma shrugged. “Well, I found out we have poachers. I’ll have to set traps for them….” She sighed. “Honestly, Vegeta, I have no idea. But I should find out tonight.”

Vegeta cocked his head to one side. “What do you mean? You are not coming in here—”

Bulma rolled her eyes, taking the items she held in her hand and placing them in the cabinets above the bench and the rack of towels. “Of course not, Vegeta! There is a vid screen you know! I’ll just view you from outside the GR.”

She heard a pause behind her. “You need sleep.”

She turned, a look of confusion on her face. Vegeta was inspecting the meat, inhaling the scent. He looked like he wanted to eat it right then. Of course, he hadn’t eaten in awhile. Bulma decided to ignore his comment. “Is your appetite any less than normal?”

Vegeta grimaced, unwrapping the meat and placing along one wall of the dome. “No. I just haven’t had time to eat. Nothing unusual. I’ve gone for days without food before.”

Bulma shook her head, turning back to make sure the cabinets were secure, just in case. “Maybe that’s why your energy is depleted. Anyways, I’ll be making sure you eat if I have to force-feed you. Your body was lacking nutrients, not to mention the dehydration. I’d like to keep you alive until I find out what’s wrong and how to fix it.” She jumped with a short yell as two hands came down on her shoulders.

Vegeta chuckled. “You are much too hyper, woman. You should calm down. What is it you humans say? ‘Switch to decaf’?”

Bulma glared at his smirk from around her shoulder. “You should talk, you little—”

Vegeta hushed whatever insult she was going to spew by pushing her onto the bench so she sat almost sideways, sitting behind her and firmly pulling her shirt up to her neck.

Bulma shrieked and clutched her chest, trying to pull her shirt back down at the same time. Vegeta chuckled, fouling her attempts. “Woman, while this is highly amusing, I don’t have time to fight with you. I’ve got some ointment I want to put on your cuts. Dry cloth and ragged wounds do not usually mix. Besides, I can’t see anything from back here unless you keep jerking like that.”

Bulma immediately stilled, eyes still wide. “Ointment?”

Vegeta sighed with mock patience as he pulled the tube he had retrieved from his nightstand out and uncapped it. “You humans are so obsessed with infection, I got some—” he paused to read the tube, “anti-biotic ointment. That way I could at least say I had some. It’s finally going to be used.”

She heard him coating his hands with the stuff, the lotion-like stuff making his hands slap together slightly. “Um, Vegeta? You really don’t have to—” She suddenly sighed, leaning back unconsciously and closing her eyes as the hands descended on her back, massaging aches she hadn’t known were there with heated intensity.

The smooth hands rolled across her back, kneading the flesh with a gentle pressure. They moved up, then back down, fingers applying a pressure that mimicked the ones the palms created, causing the overall massage to echo several times over her skin. Bulma sighed again and didn’t even stop the low sound that came from her throat.

“You like that?” The voice was a bit rough, husky, a bit amused as well. Bulma nodded silently and was rewarded with a chuckle. She felt Vegeta’s hot breath hit her neck and realized in some far corner of her mind that he was leaning toward her. She encouraged both the massage and the movement by leaning back and making another low noise.

Vegeta leaned down to the woman’s neck, lips brushing the skin there even as his hands tingled from the combined sensation of warm skin and slick ointment. The woman arched up, causing his lips to make full contact with her flesh. He could barely stop his own moan as he took the invitation, suckling on the tender flesh beneath his lips as his hands slowly worked their way around to her stomach, lacing in front of her and pulling her back to him.

Black eyes closed as he allowed his senses to tell him where heated flesh was under his lips and hands. He felt the woman buck back as he clasped the bra by its front, pulling it from her skin and then reaching inside. His mouth rose to catch a breath of air and he was suddenly captured by her own lips as she turned in his arms.

His eyes opened in surprise as her lips worked around his own, momentarily shocked by the assertive move. He smirked against her mouth then and raked his tongue against her teeth. There was no resistance as it slipped inside her mouth, playing against the roof of her mouth and then trailing down to wrestle quickly with her tongue.

She moaned again, tugging at his shirt shoulders with both hands, allowing the hands to slip under the cloth and down, teasing the skin there even as her body pressed up against his and wiggled.

Vegeta used his own hands to reach for the clasp that held Bulma’s bra together, making short work of the metal with a simple tug. His hands went back to her front, playing for a while before moving down.

By that time, Bulma had managed to slip one shoulder free of the shirt, half frustrated with the failed effort and half clinging to the tongue in her mouth. She managed to slip her own tongue in Vegeta’s mouth and was rewarded by a lull in the attentions on her, allowing her to reach down and pull his shirt up. Vegeta obliged her by lifting his arms and rolling his shoulders so that the shirt came off, bringing his hands back down to continue their trail to the hem of her pants, tugging on the cloth suggestively.

Bulma threw the shirt to the side, not watching as she plunged again into Vegeta’s mouth, working her hands over a hardened chest and stomach, delighting in the tiny twitches as she brushed her fingernails over his bronzed skin.

She felt the tug on her pants and raised her butt up enough that he could slide the material down. Her legs were lifted one by one, the pant legs slid down to entrap her ankles. A dissatisfied grunt and jerk later and the torn jeans were thrown to the side with the shirt.

The legs stayed up, wrapping around Vegeta’s hips and securing themselves by the ankles. Vegeta’s hands ran appreciatively up the legs to the thigh, rolling over the skin there, so enticingly close to the burning, aching place inside Bulma that she leaned her head back from Vegeta’s lips and pushed herself into the mound in Vegeta’s pants.

She made an inquisitive noise and grabbed at Vegeta’s pants, struggling with the clasp to release him.

Vegeta interrupted her clumsy moves with a clumsy move of his own, yanking her arms up and over her head as he pulled on the sleeves of the shirt that was still around her shoulders. She let out an angry grunt and helped his actions with the same rolling movements of the shoulder he had made earlier.

Vegeta paused momentarily as Bulma was fully revealed to him, eyes showing appreciation at the female form before him. The curves were perfect, every part proportioned just right for his hands. He smirked as the woman ignored his eyes and focused on his pants, jerking futilely at the waistband. His hands came down and covered hers.

She gasped at the inhuman heat coming from his hands and snapped her head up, blue eyes caught by the black ones that held a fiery passion with just a hint of an amused glint. As his hands guided her own in taking off his pants, she leaned back in aggressively and possessed his lips again, tongue claiming his mouth with the same amount of passion his eyes held.

He moaned in approval of her dominance and quickly regained his control, managing to get his pants off. How, he didn’t know. He was too preoccupied to know at the moment.

Vegeta and Bulma grinded against each other, not at all satisfied at the small, thin cloth that kept them separated.

Bulma once again gasped as Vegeta’s head lowered, pushing her back on the bench as he took her panties in his teeth and lifted the elastic, letting it snap back onto her skin with a smirk. He heard a brusque noise above him and lowered again, sharp teeth taking the cloth again and wearing it away. Her scent reached him effortlessly, leaving him momentarily blinded by white light for a moment. When he could see again, her panties had been torn in half and she was gasping, trying desperately to drive herself into his mouth.

“Ve…ge…ta!”

His name on her lips, like that, convinced him he was going to give her anything she wanted right now.

Bulma gasped, eyes shooting open at the feelings that suddenly swept through her from Vegeta’s mouth. She shrieked, not bothering to stop herself from bucking into him, hearing strange rumbling noises coming from him as he continued. Her hands threaded into his hair, encouraging him and yanking upwards at the same time as the sensations increased maddeningly.

Vegeta suddenly pulled back, feeling her nearing her climax and wanting to be inside her when it hit. He yanked off his briefs and pulled her closer, the mad gleam in his eyes catching her own eyes so that she sucked in a breath. He took advantage of her lost breath by stealing the rest of it with his mouth and plunging into her at the same time.

Bulma’s eyes widened so far she thought they’d pop from her head. The pain ripped through her suddenly and harshly, and tears poured from her eyes. Her legs squeezed, trying to crush his ribs as she breathed through her nose hard. It hurt so much!

Slowly, she felt the pain ebb and realized Vegeta was holding for her, waiting for her to adjust. His eyes were open and as wide as hers. Obviously, he hadn’t known she was still a virgin.

She told him she was ready by languidly moving her lips over his, her tongue once again dancing inside his mouth. His eyes closed and he slowly pulled out, thrusting back in and setting up a rhythm that had them both rocking on the bench.

Bulma found herself slowly lowered to the wood of the bench, a hand cradling her head as Vegeta continued to move inside her, rocking them both and digging Bulma’s back into the hard surface. It was uncomfortable, but neither was complaining right now.

Vegeta continued to take advantage of Bulma’s mouth as he thrust in and out of her, eyes not wanting to open right at the moment. He was close and so was she, and that was all that mattered at the moment.

With a hoarse yell, Bulma yanked her mouth back from Vegeta’s, head thrown back onto the bench as she climaxed, Vegeta’s name spilling from her lips loudly. Vegeta came a second after her, black eyes watching as Bulma shrieked his name skyward while he yelled his release.

He collapsed on top of her, hearing her grunt as he pressed against her. He grunted himself and shifted, using the last of his strength to roll himself out of her and her on top of him. She settled with a small sigh on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her torso to keep her from falling off.

There was silence for almost ten minutes before he turned his head slightly to look at the clock. One hour till sunset. He sat up; cradling Bulma’s sleeping form as he silently rose and padded to the door, setting her on the floor outside it. He frowned down at her before turning and rifling through the cabinet where she had put his stuff.

He came back to her reposed form and lifted her head, settling it back on the pillow and tucking the burgundy blanket she had left for him around her tightly in a cocoon. Hopefully she didn’t wake up with a cramp in her neck or back or he’d never hear the end of it.

Smirking to himself at the imagined fight, he entered the Gravity Room and closed the door, locking himself in for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! It’s hot! I don’t care if it’s 70 degrees outside! It’s 90 in here! My first lemon!!! Inspired by yaoi doujinshi…. O.o; Please don’t ask…. Fetish…. I *like* Radditz/Vegeta…. Nevermind. The lemon, my first ^_^, was also inspired by lots of lemons by many authors. Next chapter…. HUGE hint. You’ll all go, ‘Huh? But I said that and you said I was just ‘close’’. Silly! Like JB said, it’s never that simple with me.
> 
> Um, I’ll say this again. Everyone who has guessed, take what you guessed and turn it around. Vice versa and stuff…backwards…etc. It is not a kitsune…. Heehee
> 
> Susan: NO, and I don’t blame you. I blame the fact that you can’t roll into something nice…. Next chapter reveals the animal, at least….
> 
> Gita: Wow, researched, eh? Nope. But you are so close. It is not a kitsune…. But there was stuff on the page I looked at that mentioned kitsune. I guess a fox…yes, it would be the same family…so you are close.
> 
> Manawolf: *shrug* Would make a good story…. I might just use that idea, changed—yes! My Kami, woman! You just broke my writer’s block on WoB!!! You’re a godsend!!! Thank you!!!! I do have an explanation, but I guarantee you will kill me for it…. It’s so devious I could pass as Vegeta right now…. Um, isn’t the definition of a stallion the fact that it isn’t gelded? Anyways, I like Vegeta all vulnerable and stuffs too…. But not so vulnerable he’s begging for help or anything. I still want him to be his ‘growly’, grumpy self….
> 
> Louie: Silly. You’re assuming…. Ah, Nevermind. What you think this story is about is not what it’s about.
> 
> JadedBest: Lol Let’s see…. Lemon. Not Bulma, not—no! you wouldn’t dare! If you do I’ll—um, I’ll—let something horrible happen in this story…. Wait, already done that….. I’ll—just don’t stick who I think you’re going to stick here! There’s only one person who would enjoy a lemon…. Actually, there are quite a few, but only one you’d dare stick in here…. Wonder if I’m right. Um, no. I really don’t see what the problem is. Your first guess was correct; kinda. Just turn it around…. Ch 6 reveals a lot!
> 
> . : Interesting name…. ^_~ No.
> 
> Debido: Ah, bear just kinda popped up. He might come back again, but the bear has something to do with the problem…. ^_^ I hope I answer all of them. Tell me if I don’t?
> 
> Gie: Nope, but I do like that show. The Oberon/Loki parts were the best. They just complicated the plot all up. My fav episode was where Goliath and the gang came ‘back’ from Avalon to find themselves in their future. The red gargoyle with the white hair (resembles Jeice, eh?) was mated to Demona…. Those two made a really good pair! I loved it! Anyways, a nice guess, and some cool info, but no. There was a creature in the show that was the part animal that is in this story. ((private musing: *_* I wonder if you’ll slap yourself for that….))
> 
> Skittlekicks: Nope and nope. Sensual but earthy? Heehee, yeah, Vegeta’s real earthy in this story! ROFLMBO You’re going to kill me for that! Possessed? I can say for certain there is no possession involved. But if he were an oni, I personally would choose Sesshoumaru to possess him. ^_~
> 
> Elbereth in April: You plugged me? *hugs* Thank you! I will update it! I just need my HD to it…. Heehee I may do a Piccolo story. I’m definitely drawing him per my brother’s request. He has some really good parts in the Fusion Saga…. Maybe he and Krillin doing the Fusion Dance? Ha ha ha!


	6. Chapter 6

Bulma groaned, shifting slightly at the hardness underneath her and the cold that was seeping into her skin to create goosebumps. She gasped softly as the motion made a certain area of her throb in punishment.

She lay there for a few minutes; trying to recall why she would be feeling so sore down there; until it all came flooding back, causing her cheeks to redden unmercifully as the whole incident played itself like a movie behind her eyes.

She raised a hand to her forehead and moaned. What had she been thinking? That was it. She hadn’t been thinking; at least, not with her head. She’d just had sex with Vegeta. She’d just had sex with an alien Prince, and while that didn’t sound so bad, the implications of sex with an alien Prince who was Vegeta were slightly unknown. She didn’t like unknowns.

She sat up slowly, the blanket hindering her movement until she yanked it from around her body. Why was she on the ground with a pillow and that infamous burgundy blanket? Where was Vegeta?

She took in her surroundings and everything else clicked into place. He had been quite adamant about her not being near him when he changed, so he’d set her outside the GR and locked himself in.

She stood on shaky legs, wrapping the blanket around her to cover her nakedness. She seemed to remember clothes tearing….

She used the outer wall of the Gravity Room to steady herself. Ok, first order of business was to ignore the pain and try not to think of its source. The next was to see what time—

She nodded grimly as her eyes inspected the digital red numbers and moved to the control panel just to the side of the door of the GR. It was four hours after sunset. Time to see exactly what Vegeta was….

Her hand hesitated over the button that would allow her to see inside the Gravity Room. She really did want to know what was wrong, but there was a tiny part of her that didn’t. It was that part that was still a naïve girl and believed the entire world was right and free of monsters. It was the part that wanted to relive every second of that intimate moment with Vegeta with happy bliss. It didn’t want that moment ruined by the sight it would see. It didn’t want its image of Vegeta tarnished by whatever he was at the moment.

With a decisive tap of her finger, Bulma pressed the button and watched anxiously as the screen in front of her came to life.

Bulma stared at the inky darkness in front of her before nearly smacking herself on the head. Vegeta had turned off the lights.

‘ _You need sleep_.’ That had been his only response when she had told him she would be able to see him this way. Perhaps some tiny part of him didn’t want her to see what he was either. For some reason, the thought lightened her.

She shook her head and accessed the internal controls of the Gravity Room, typing in the code to turn on the lights and reveal all.

She shrieked and jumped back from the screen as a finger tapped her on the shoulder. Whirling around, Bulma once again confronted a sheepish-looking Goku who was shaking his head to get rid of the ringing in his ears. Bulma immediately moved in front of the screen, blocking the other Saiyan’s view just in case he could actually see in the dark.

“What do you want, Goku?”

Goku tilted his head to one side, quizzically looking at Bulma’s impatient face and her awkward posture, not to mention the blanket wrapped around her. “Um, Bulma? Are you naked?”

Bulma turned three shades of red, clutching the cloth closer to her. “Goku! Get out of here! I took the senzu and I’m fine. Now leave!”

Goku scratched the back of his head, moving back some to relieve his ears. “Calm down, Bulma…. I’ve seen you like this—”

Bulma dropped the distance between her and the other. “Don’t say another word, Goku! If you were any other man you’d be singing soprano right now!”

Goku scratched his head again in confusion. “Um, okay.” He grinned brightly. “Vegeta back yet?”

Bulma sighed, rolling her head and looking like she wanted to scream. “No! Now go away! I’ve gotta get dressed!”

Goku nodded, a small smile on his face. “Any reason why you’re naked outside the GR?” With that last question hanging in the air, Goku put two fingers to his forehead and vanished, leaving an open-mouthed Bulma wondering when Goku had gotten smart and why no one had told her about it.

What had he been there for anyways? He’d never actually stated that….

With an aggravated sigh, Bulma turned back around and again stared at the black screen in front of her, brows drawn down in frustration. Now she felt like stomping around and cursing Goku and forgetting all about finding out about Vegeta. Maybe that was just her subconscious trying to find an excuse though….

She sighed and hit the enter button, watching the screen as the inside of the Gravity Room lit with artificial light. She didn’t realize she was holding her breath until she had to let it out with a great whoosh.

Nothing was in the GR that she could see, and she began to worry. Then she realized the limited angle of the square camera in the domed room and panned the shot around to where Vegeta had laid the meat, assuming that whatever it was would be there.

Bulma caught her breath at what she saw. There it was, curled protectively around the meat and blinking at the light. She’d run across the animal many times in her search. In fact, she’d even mentioned it to Goku.

Okay, now what to do? She knew what animal Vegeta was. So she would observe him, see what he did. For now though, there were other problems.

She watched he stood slowly, stretched, and paced around his confinement, sniffing the walls as if searching for an exit. She panned the camera again and followed him as he made his way to the door, stopping to sniff there with more interest than before. She knew they weren’t that big in the wild or captivity.

Peering closer, she caught her breath at how beautiful—well, it was Vegeta—Vegeta seemed like this. The black fur shone as he turned, seemingly highlighted with gold at the tips. He strolled again, back to what was left of the meat; a bloody puddle on the floor; and she moved the camera to watch him.

His head jerked up, golden eyes catching the camera’s movement by the whirring sound that faintly reached pricked ears. The bushy tail went out straight from its body as its nose lifted up and cautiously scented the air. He sneezed at the strange machine; at his predicament in general; and continued onto the meat, circling around and plopping down beside it with a heavy sigh.

Bulma shook her head to relieve it of the strange sensation those eyes had given her. There was one solution to this whole problem, and Bulma intended on using it. It would bring some problems with it, but she would discuss it with Vegeta when he woke. For now, she was tired, Vegeta was fine, and the pillow on the floor was calling her name. Turning off the monitor, Bulma turned back to the ground and the discarded pillow and curled up there, worries set aside by the items that always solved everything.

~<*>~

Vegeta came to screaming and was immediately trying to fend off a suffocating soft thing that was clinging to him. His mind and body screamed with him as he tried to use hands and feet in an attempt to throw off whatever was attacking him. The thing was flung from him with a grunt and he sat up, looking frantically around with widened eyes.

“Jeez, Vegeta! You were screaming like someone was murdering you! Are you okay?”

His still wide eyes blinked at the blue-haired woman that was rising to her knees from the floor. A burgundy blanket was clutched around her, but it was quite evident that she was naked since her fall had opened it slightly at the waist. Noticing the direction of his look, she blushed and covered herself, standing up and keeping back from him. Her blue eyes were concerned despite the flush. “Vegeta?”

He sat up, hooking his arms around his knees and looking interestedly at her. “What?”

Bulma stared at his casual manner and shook her head. “You want a blanket, or do you want to walk around naked all day?”

He blinked again at her and looked down at himself. He was indeed naked. “I think my clothes are fine. I tore your pants, but I’m pretty sure mine at least, are intact. Why aren’t you dressed? It’s morning isn’t it?” He blinked his eyes again and Bulma realized then that he was half-asleep. He might as well have been sleepwalking. That explained the strange behavior.

“Yeah, it’s morning, Vegeta. I just didn’t want to waste time going upstairs. Come on. Get up. You need to go to bed.”

Even if Vegeta was half-awake, his mind was obviously still functioning. He smirked as he rose, reveling in the fact that her eyes took in everything as he stood before her. “In your bed?”

She blushed again, feeling heat in places other than her face. “Um, no. Yours.”

He looked slightly disappointed. “Oh—” His voice creaked into a yawn that showed her his canines as he approached. He kept one eye turned on her as he bent down by his waist to retrieve his pants from where they lay beside her, smirk widening as she followed his every movement like a hungry hawk. He straightened again and met her eyes. “You sure?”

She glanced away, fidgeting under the blanket. “Yeah. Need to make breakfast— Oh!” She suddenly bounced up as if someone had pulled strings attached to her joints.

Vegeta jumped, almost falling over himself as one leg was caught in his pants and one out. “Woman! Don’t do that!”

She giggled like an adolescent as he rolled his eyes. “Sorry. I found out what you are!”

Vegeta raised a brow as he pulled his pants up and buckled them once again. He was surprised the buckle was still intact with the way she had pried at it. “Really? And that’s something to cheer about?” He was struggling to focus on the woman’s words. They wanted to float away from him.

Bulma shrugged. “Well, makes the job of wishing you better that much easier.”

His head came up in surprise so fast the room spun. He swallowed several times, trying to block out the smell of the blood he knew was in the corner, and focused on her eyes.

“Vegeta?”

He hadn’t even noticed her come to stand beside him, hand grasping his arm. He shook it off lightly. “I’m fine. I get disoriented after. I just need rest.” He waited until she had nodded before continuing. “So what am I?”

“A wolf.”

His black eyes looked curiously at her. “A wolf. That’s it? I’m a wolf.”

She nodded, a bright smile on her face as if she’d just handed him all the answers on a platter.

Vegeta rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh, wondering how Dr. Briefs could’ve fathered such a child. Ah yes, Mrs. Briefs. “How is that possible, woman? I’m Saiyan. I turn into an Oozaru with a tail and a full moon. I do not turn into a furry dog every night.” He took a step and felt his world tilt to one side. Once again, it was Bulma that kept him steady. It was her or the floor. Besides, he didn’t mind her closeness.

“It’s not a furry dog. Wolves act nothing like furry dogs. You’re a black wolf with yellow eyes and you’re huge. At least, for a wolf.”

He once again removed her hand from his arm and started for the open door. “I don’t care if I’m a giraffe with orange and black polka dots, what I want to know is why I’m turning into a wolf and how to undo it.”

Bulma beamed as she followed along two steps behind. He found it slightly annoying that she acted as if he would fall over at any moment. But with him feeling as if he’d drunk three bottles of wine, maybe it was best. “That’s the thing; with the dragonballs, it doesn’t matter how. We just wish that you are cured of your lycanthropy.”

He turned his head back slightly as he leaned on the banister and made his way cautiously up the stairs. “Lycanthropy?”

Bulma nodded, only relaxing from her vigil when Vegeta reached the landing and headed down the hall to his room. “The disease of being a wolf every—well, night in your case. Most legends say only under a full moon.”

Vegeta shrugged. “There’s no moon. Maybe—they adapted. It’s a disease?” He sounded incredulous that what caused him such weakness would be equivalent to a virus. Then again, there was Kakarott’s heart disease….

Bulma reached around, turned the doorknob he fumbled with, and stood on the threshold, watching as he stumbled to his bed and stood in front of it. “According to folklore. But, it’s kind of mind-blowing. I mean; it’s a myth.”

He grunted as he turned and looked at her. “Super Saiyan was a legend for my people. I always thought it just a myth. Dragonballs are a myth to your people also, yes?”

Bulma nodded. “Yeah.” She stepped into the room further, realizing that Vegeta half-awake could spill a lot. “Why was it a myth for you? I thought your people put a lot on it.”

He shrugged. “I saw how far it got them, holding on to such hope. I preferred—prefer more solid things; things I can touch and sense; things that aren’t fairy tales told to children. Immortality was real. The Legendary was not; until Kakarott.”

Vegeta huffed, sitting down on the edge of the bed with eyes that couldn’t quite focus on the woman before him. “Back on topic, woman. We’re going to wish away this—disease?”

Bulma nodded. “When you wake up, you can eat what I’ve put into the fridge. The sooner I start, the sooner you can continue chasing that legend.”

His eyes considered her from across the distance between them, not really picking up the words that came from moving lips. He could smell her from here…. “Woman, come feel my forehead. I think I have a fever.”

Bulma’s eyebrow rose. Surely Vegeta— No, he wasn’t the pick-up line type. With that thought firmly in her mind, she crossed the carpet to Vegeta and bent down slightly to feel his head. “Well, you don’t feel that warm-mmm….”

The word was muffled by Vegeta’s lips as he pulled her down by the blanket bunched around her neck and covered her mouth with his, smirking. Blue eyes widened fractionally at the—playful gleam in black ones as Vegeta’s other arm came up behind her and scooped her legs out from under her. He bounced back on the bed, gripping her by the blanket, the back of her legs, and her lips; laying both of them down on the bed side by side.

Finally, needing air, both broke backwards, Bulma to glare and struggle in his grip and Vegeta to smirk and turn her struggle into an attempt to get the blanket off. “Vegeta—”

He stopped his undressing as she stopped her struggles, piercing her with black eyes that seemed to seep her very will away. “What? It was a mistake? Isn’t that what you humans say?” He shrugged, not giving her a chance to speak. “Whatever. I don’t care what you think it was. It was sex. And I want more. Now.”

She stared at him for a few moments more before blowing air in his face in frustration. “Men!” With that one announcement, and no further explanation, Bulma stripped herself.

Vegeta gave her one appreciative look, and a thankful one if the tight state of his pants was any indication, before lowering his head to her chest. “Woman….” The word trailed off as his tongue lapped over her skin, tasting and teasing at the same time.

Bulma eagerly arched into him, once again fumbling with that cursed buckle. This time the metal gave under her hands and she tore it and the cloth it had held away.

Vegeta gasped, head jerking back, as Bulma took him in her hand and vigorously pumped. His eyes met hers with shock and a little anticipation as she pushed him back onto the bed and straddled his ready form. “I just wanted to repay the favor, Vegeta.” He’d never known that irritating voice could sound quite that sultry.

He watched, hypnotized, as her hands slowly lowered, not seeing the smirk she was giving him. He hissed through his teeth and his lids closed over rolling eyes as her hands worked up and down, circling and scraping lightly. He didn’t realize he was growling until his eyes popped open when she chuckled.

Her hands continued to move, but now it was her head that descended. He couldn’t; didn’t want to; stop the moan to encourage what she was going to do. If her hands were doing this to him; then her mouth—

The whole top half of his body bucked from the bed, head thrown back to gasp for air as his eyes popped as wide as they would go. The sucking and smacking sounds he heard were only furthering his rise as he fell back onto the bed hard, making the whole structure shudder. He heard a chuckle again and hissed as it vibrated against him, making a chill run down to his toes. No. He couldn’t wait!

Bulma gave a mock-shriek as she was pulled up roughly and shoved into Vegeta’s heaving chest. She barely had time to look into maddened eyes before he flipped them both over, covering her body with his and entering her in one smooth thrust. Now it was Bulma’s turn for her eyes to pop wide and then roll around their sockets.

Vegeta gave a sigh of pleasure at the tight warmth that surrounded him and let go to the rhythm that had the bed creaking like a wooden rocking chair. Neither heard the sound as they continued to pound against each other, Vegeta thrusting and Bulma arching; until it couldn’t be told who was making what movement.

However, the great bellow that rattled the windows in their panes was definitely Vegeta’s. As was the shriek that followed along with twin streaks of fingernails driven into and down a tanned back Bulma’s.

Both fell back onto the bed, Vegeta angling himself so that he didn’t land on Bulma this time. Vegeta immediately felt weariness drag him down as the combined effects of the transformation and the sex dragged him into sleep, one arm slung over Bulma’s waist haphazardly and his face buried in the crook of her neck.

Bulma lay in the bed, staring up at the ceiling and content to just stay there with Vegeta’s warm body pressed up against hers and his arm across her middle. Unfortunately, time was precious. She needed to fix him a lunch big enough to hold him appetite and nutrition-wise. She needed to get the dragonball radar, somehow come up with some excuse for the others so the sudden darkening of the sky wouldn’t freak them all out, and collect the dragonballs. Hopefully, Vegeta could help in that area. She’d simply cart the GR around with them since it could be encapsulated. With Vegeta’s flying, it would take a lot less time….

She bit her bottom lip as she swung her leg over the side and carefully extracted herself from Vegeta’s arm, sitting up on the edge of the bed. Was Vegeta’s power back? If not, they had a problem. Maybe she could ask Goku— Vegeta would be against that…. Yamcha? Vegeta would be against that, but for different reasons. He’d said it was just sex, and that was fine by her, but she had a feeling he was the jealous type. Wasn’t every man?

With that question and the answer attached to it left in the air, Bulma rose and walked stealthily to her room to get dressed, quietly closing Vegeta’s door with a soft snick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess once you start writing lemons, you can’t stop…. So, all of you who guessed correctly with wolf or werewolf get a small prize. Like a BG I made or anything small that you would like; sound file, clip, etc. Why small? Why not the big one? Simple. You’ll find out either next chapter or the one after that. Depends on how long it takes to collect the DB’s.
> 
> BTW, keep guessing. You now know to look up ‘Japanese wolf’ or ‘Japanese werewolf’…. I have the page I found the info on bookmarked, so I will give the URL at the end…. BTW, I changed the prize from Episode 141 to Movie 6, I think. Revenge of Cooler, with the Metal Coolers…. Yeah, it took me 30 minutes to download the file, so I figured it would be better than a download that I can’t upload even in .zip format…. ^_^ Will that make you guess more? How about a music video for anyone who comes close? Ah, I’ll discuss it when I email the winners, eh?
> 
> Lupa: Love your name…. Well, you’re right. It’s definitely not typical…. Wolves are so awesome…. Fav animal right there. Care for a second guess?
> 
> Dragon Girl: Interesting. Looked it up. I’ll definitely watch it. Was it a book too? I can’t recall…. You’re not really off…. You could say you’ve got part of it…. ^_~
> 
> Susan: Chew on that, girl! Now figure it out! Lol This is fun! This satisfy the lemon urge? I don’t think I can stop now! Lol Thank you, but that is my artwork. I have to get the pic of my cat up, it’s the best one. Can you believe they erased the map? That *was* mine, fool! Oh well, I’ll repost it till they get the hint! Wolverine. Yet another Anti-hero. Oh, that wolverine! The ‘wol-‘ part was right!
> 
> S.G.: Nope. See what I mean by almost kitsune? They’re in the same family. Dogs…. Have as many guesses as you wish. I am not the Earth dragon…lol.
> 
> JadedBest: *snaps fingers* I had someone better in mind for the lemon…. Master Roshi? Duh…. 18 is cool but the whole snapping-Vegeta’s-arm thing really messed it up for her. Plus, well, she’s *too* emotionless…. She should at least sound arrogant or something. I did like her comeback to ‘Bring it on’. ‘As you wish.’ You’re danged right it’s as Vegeta wishes! lol


	7. Chapter 7

Vegeta opened one eye, then the other. Slowly, he levered himself up, grunting at the stiffness of muscles, especially a certain one that had been exercised a lot more than he was used to.

Now he was grinning as he swung his legs around and practically jumped up out of bed. Who knew the woman would be that good in bed? Not once…but twice. And she was quite willing to just have sex without all those complicated relationship attachments he’d seen the humans deal with. It was good sex. And he wanted more.

Within minutes, he was downstairs, dressed in only a pair of drawstring gray sweats Mrs. Briefs had gotten for him that he’d never used. He had full intentions of finding the woman and just doing it wherever she was, but the smell of food cooked and waiting drew him irresistibly toward the kitchen.

As luck would have it; or not considering she was sore; Bulma was in the kitchen, talking to an exasperated Yamcha over the phone with her back to the entrance. She didn’t hear Vegeta enter, so she didn’t see his hungry gaze divided between the steaming meats and vegetables and her curved body half-hanging over the countertop.

After a minute of dark eyes boring into her back, Bulma fidgeted and finally turned around to alleviate the sudden tension between her shoulders. A pair of demanding onyxes inches from her own met her suddenly widened eyes. As Yamcha continued to chatter at her, not realizing she was no longer listening, a tanned hand plucked the phone away from her ear and limp fingers and pressed the button that cut off the annoying voice.

“Woman….”

Bulma gulped audibly, finding her mouth very dry. The voice was a husky whisper that stirred her bangs. She felt a cold drop of sweat travel down her back. She swallowed twice and blinked once. “V-Vegeta, the food’s r-ready. Surely you’re hungry….”

Vegeta’s eyes scraped her form; down, up, down, and finally back up to her eyes. “Very.”

Bulma almost squeaked a reply as she squeezed around Vegeta to the food-laden table. “So am I. Famished for food. I better eat it quick, eh?” She heard her own voice produce a nervous laugh as she continued to babble aimlessly. “So, that was Yamcha. I’ll have to call him back. But right now I need to eat. You know, before it gets cold and—”

“Woman!” This time the voice was a sharp bark that made her whirl around; plate in one hand, fork in the other. “Stop that incessant chattering!” As her mouth closed with a snap and a huff, Vegeta smirked and walked around to the other side of the table, picking up his own plate and filling it with food. “What were you calling that weakling for anyways?” His voice carried just the right tone she was looking for, a slightly peeved one with a hint of disgust.

Bulma grinned lightly as she put about half of what Vegeta placed on his. She watched as he set down the first and filled the second the same way. “Oh, I just wanted to ask him if he’d come with us to search for the dragonballs.”

The nonchalant way she produced the words made Vegeta’s head jerk upwards. He noted the glimmer in her eyes and looked back to his food. Oh, two could play at this game. “Really? Think he could keep up with me?”

“Huh?”

Vegeta sat down, arranging his plates around him and looking up at the woman, who was still standing and trying not to look confused, but failing horribly. “Well, I am a Saiyan at my peak, woman. I hardly expect a mere human to be able to keep up with my flight speed, no matter how good you may think he is. And since you’ll have the radar and the gravity room, you’ll be coming with me. I hardly think we should put all this on the slowest man’s shoulders…. Besides, I want to have sex with you. I don’t want an audience while we do so.”

Bulma choked on the piece of food she was eating, sending it sailing across the table to land squarely on Vegeta’s lap. He raised a brow as he looked from it to her; then flicked it off himself with a look of disgust. “Do you mind?”

Bulma went two shades of red, her voice cracking a bit at the beginning. “Sorry. I thought I’d just pay you back for that bit of barbarism.” The comment was dry. Obviously, Vegeta had gotten back his power, along with the arrogance that came with it.

Vegeta openly mocked her with a smirk. “Barbarism would be me saying I wanted to fu—”

“Okay, Vegeta! It’s understood! You want to have sex with me. Good, okay, fine, great. Wait till tonight!”

Vegeta rolled his eyes. “Don’t get too excited about it.” He had to hide his smirk this time. He could smell her from here and it was driving him nuts. Obviously she wanted subtlety. Well….

After a few minutes of silence, Bulma chanced a look up from her food to see Vegeta putting all his concentration on his own food. She breathed a sigh of relief. All she needed was to have Vegeta throw her on the table and just do it. She didn’t think she could have any of her friends over for dinner if that happened.

“What’s that?”

Bulma’s head came back up to find Vegeta looking at her curiously. “What’s what?”

“That.” This time, he helped her out by pointing to a piece of chocolate cake she’d gotten out of the fridge for herself.

“Um, that’s chocolate cake.” Vegeta was eyeing it avidly and Bulma couldn’t help her grin. It must look really good if he was looking at it like it was rare meat. “Want some?”

His eyes locked on hers with what could only be an assent and she dipped her fork into it, scooping up moist, thick, dark cake topped with light brown, swirled icing that started to immediately drip over the cake and toward the side of the fork. Bulma held one hand under it and transferred it to Vegeta’s plate.

Her eyes widened and she stifled a gasp as Vegeta’s head descended to catch the fork in his mouth before she could deposit the cake, gently bringing it and her hand up so he could slowly slide full lips over the metal. His eyes locked onto hers with a fire that must’ve matched the one that she felt heat up her entire body. She bit off a moan as the lips left the fork, all evidence of the cake gone.

Vegeta let a seductive smile ooze onto his face as he swallowed. “Good.” The way the word was stated clearly said he wasn’t speaking of the cake. “Want to try some of mine?” His fork pointed down to the cheesecake he was having as dessert, topped lightly with heated strawberries in red sauce.

Bulma nodded silently, not trusting her voice, and watched as Vegeta filled the fork with stiff, firm filling and crumbly graham-cracker crust, adding just a bit of a strawberry to the end. Instead of leaning over, he stood up and walked to where she was, crouching down next to her chair and turning it and her so that they were facing him.

Bulma didn’t have time to say anything as a smirking Vegeta forced the fork into her mouth. She allowed the fork to slide slowly out, almost rolling her eyes at the look from Vegeta and the flavor of the dessert all at the same time. This time she did moan as the fork left her mouth.

Vegeta swallowed the disappointed sound with his lips, immediately slipping his tongue in. He leaned in, his hand creeping around and weaving through Bulma’s blue hair as his eyes slowly closed over the combined taste of silky chocolate and smooth cheesecake. Bulma was suddenly very glad she hadn’t gotten that chocolate cheesecake. This was much better!

Realizing he could hold his breath a bit longer than the woman, he released her, watching in satisfaction as her head bowed forward to rest on his shoulder. “Not the table.”

“Hm?” Vegeta managed to lean back, causing Bulma’s head to rise so they could look each other in the face.

Managing to blush, Bulma almost turned away. “No sex on the table. We eat at the table.”

Vegeta smirked, rising smoothly and moving back to his seat. “What are you talking about, woman? You said to wait till tonight.”

Bulma glared at Vegeta, who was studiously ignoring her but not his smirk as he once again attacked his food. She gritted her teeth, blue eyes blazing, before standing up deliberately. “I have to call back Yamcha. Tell him I don’t need him to come after all.”

Vegeta glanced at her as she walked to the counter to pick up the cordless. “You better not need him to come.”

Bulma whirled, mouth open at the very obvious innuendo. She clicked it shut with a snap at his mischievous look and replied instead in an almost bored tone, “Shut up and eat, Vegeta.”

The Saiyan merely chuckled and went back to consuming the rest of what was on the table as Bulma dialed Yamcha’s number and waited out the two rings it took him to pick up. “Hello?”

“Hey, Yamcha? Sorry. The phone got disconnected by an annoying little prick.” A low growl behind her made her smirk a bit. “I just wanted to tell you to cancel that dragonball hunt.”

There was a pause before Yamcha wisely discarded the description. “I thought you thought we’d need it…in case someone got hurt.” The voice on the other end sounded skeptical, yet paused at the last part.

Bulma winced. She’d told that little story to Yamcha because it was the only way she was assured it would get his help. The ‘someone got hurt’ part was actually just a nice way of saying in case they needed to resurrect someone.

Bulma seriously didn’t think it would come to that. Goku had the heart medicine and Super Saiyan power. Vegeta was sure to get the same soon. Then there was that kid from the future. He had the Super Saiyan thing too, which must have rankled Vegeta to no end.

Funny. He wasn’t obsessing much over it since this lycanthropy thing had begun. Then again, it wasn’t like he had time to either. “Well, that was just me; having a bout of anxiety. I—kinda realized I have more faith in all of you. We won’t need the dragonballs.” At least, they wouldn’t need them for the battle with the Androids.

There were some more words traded, a general exchange of pleasantries and information about the changes in both their lives; some portions obviously omitted, and Bulma was hanging up. She turned around and shrieked as she was grabbed by two hands around her waist and sat on the countertop firmly. “Hey—”

“Whatever you are going to say, don’t finish it. We’re not on the table.”

No, now they were on the place where the food was pre— Oh Kami! As Vegeta’s hands slowly and languorously slid up her thighs to a place that was already warm and moist, Bulma had only one question: why did she wear a skirt?

Vegeta’s head lowered to suckle on her neck and Bulma eagerly bent it back to give him access, sliding as close to the edge as she dared to make Vegeta’s hands skim closer to her panties. The hands paused, fiddling with the elastic seams of her panties until she squirmed. She turned her head ever so slightly to whisper lightly in Vegeta’s ear. “Touch me.”

Vegeta’s entire body shivered against his will as the warm breath brushed across him. He removed one hand and grappled it in the back of her hair, fingers entwining in the blue strands to not only support her, but himself. Slowly, his other hand lifted the elastic and slipped inside, lightly trailing over the surface.

Bulma let out a breathy moan, leaning forward as far as she could and trying to thrust her hips into Vegeta’s hand. He held it back though, teasing and taunting the skin there until Bulma was lightly shaking against the strain. This time her protest was more vehement. Grabbing his head with both of her hands, she turned it sharply and took his mouth, tongue forcing into it to map out the inside, suggesting exactly what he should do with his fingers.

Vegeta had paused in surprise at the deft move on Bulma’s part, but after a few moments, he got the hint. Slowly, he slid down her panties.

Bulma’s head whipped back; and would’ve hit the cabinets if not for Vegeta’s hand keeping it in place; as two of Vegeta’s fingers entered and pushed themselves as deep as they would go. They stilled inside her and she let out the shaky breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and lowered her head to look at him.

Vegeta’s black eyes were narrowed slits as he stared at Bulma’s own half-lidded ones. The tight state of his pants confirmed just how much he too was enjoying this. “Good?”

Bulma wordlessly nodded before lowering her head further and planting light kisses over his face, encouraging him to move. He did so; lightly curling the fingers to stroke her walls and delighting at the warm and wet sensation that allowed them to slide easily. He pulled them halfway out, only to thrust them back in, making sure to brush against the sides. Bulma let out a low moan, hands lowering to grab at the back of Vegeta’s shirt and twist it under them.

A full minute of the same movements had Bulma gasping for air, thrusting aimlessly at Vegeta, her head rocking back and forth occasionally. It was then that she concluded that it wasn’t enough. She managed to let out one word that aptly expressed that conclusion.

“More.”

Vegeta smirked, leaning in toward Bulma’s ear as he continued to pump his fingers vigorously in her. “More?”

Her hands scrambled on his back for purchase before slipping around and down to the front of his pants, trying to reach him. Vegeta almost bucked into the countertop’s side as those fingers slid lightly across him, not able to gain any kind of purchase. He let out a grunt and removed his hand, earning himself a moan of disappointed loss and her hands moving to do the job herself.

While Vegeta would have liked to see her pleasure herself, she had already teased him past the point of return. He grabbed the hands. “Pants.”

Bulma struggled against the grip half-heartedly before acknowledging the one word by helpfully tugging on his pants. Once she had stopped tying up both his hands, he was able to use them to pull off his pants, kicking them off with his feet. He quickly returned them to caress her body briefly but firmly, making her eyes roll in their sockets.

“Wrap your legs around me.”

She mentally shook herself at his hoarse words, doing as told, wrapping securely and locking her ankles much as she’d done in the Gravity Room. This time, Vegeta’s hands came around to cup her securely, pressing him into her and lifting her off the countertop at the same time.

Before the Saiyan could even fully gain equilibrium or control, Bulma pushed down on the hard pressure at her entrance, taking him in a move that made him suck in a breath as his eyes widened.

Bulma felt the breath pushed out of her lungs as her back was rammed into a nearby wall. She threw back her head to rest on the cool plaster behind her as Vegeta slammed up into her, his own eyes closed as he simply drove her into the surface.

It was only a few minutes later that they were slumped on the floor, practically curled around each other, not having moved after their respective climaxes. Bulma blinked sleepily at Vegeta, who watched her with an interest that would’ve been disconcerting had they not just had sex.

“We leaving?”

He nodded; then punctuated it with words. “Yes. Gravity Room?”

She nodded back. “Everything’s packed.”

Vegeta curled his head into her shoulder, breath hitting her back in a deep and slow rhythm. They lay like that for a good hour before either felt the inclination to move.

* * *

“Are you sure?”

Bulma sighed in frustration. “I told you. It’ll be fine! You’ll be in the Gravity Room; I’ll look for the sixth dragonball. It’s only a few hours away. I’ll be back in enough time to watch you transform.”

While Bulma’s face practically lit up at the thought, Vegeta grimaced. “I wouldn’t advise it. It feels like I’m being turned inside out. I don’t imagine it looks any better.”

Bulma had the sudden urge to stick out her tongue but quelled it, instead looking at Vegeta over the fire they had built; well, he had built; with wide eyes. “Are we having a conversation?”

Vegeta raised a brow as he tore into the piece of meat he held in one hand. He swallowed before speaking. “No. I’m telling you not to be an idiot. And you’re not going to listen. I think we’re arguing politely.”

He frowned. “It’s not like you could find the thing if it were placed under your nose. You can barely find your shoes in the morning.” He smirked. “There. Politeness gone.”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s only been for two days, Vegeta! And both times you moved them.”

“They were in my way.”

“Of what? You weren’t doing anything. You went out of your way to kick them!” Despite the frustration contained behind the words, Bulma did nothing more than reach for more food.

Vegeta stilled, black eyes twinkling in the fire’s light as it began to burn brighter in the growing darkness. “Now this is confusing me, woman. How could you have known I’d done that if you ‘lost’ them?”

Bulma stopped herself, meeting Vegeta’s eyes with her own wide ones. She ducked her head to hide the sudden blush that crept across her face. “Um, good guess?”

He gave a short bark of laughter. “Little bitch. You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” Considering the smirk he sent her way, the words were most probably a compliment.

Bulma took them as such and smiled at him, but still added an extra bite to her next words. “Don’t you have a Gravity Room to be locked in?”

Vegeta cast the horizon a nervous glance that was not unnoticed as he slowly stood, stretching limbs as he did so. Bulma frowned lightly and Vegeta was just in time to turn around and catch the last bit of it before she was able to hide it.

He folded his arms across his chest, scowling down at her. “What?”

Shrugging, Bulma stood with him. “Nothing. By tomorrow afternoon it’ll all be over. I, for one, am glad!”

Vegeta nodded, not looking at her as he stalked to the Gravity Room, already set up and opened. He walked straight in, not turning as Bulma followed him to the door and pressed a button, sealing him inside.

Sighing, Bulma turned and headed back to the fire, picking up the capsule that contained all the necessary items, along with the dragon radar, which she turned on to pinpoint the dragonball nearest her. She flicked the knob on top twice, until it was set correctly, and pointed herself in the correct direction, starting out.

But not without a backward glance at the now dark Gravity Room.

* * *

Bulma swore that if this dragonball hunt lasted any longer, she’d fall over. Day in and day out it had been the same. Collect the dragonballs till dinnertime; eat; sex; eat the little food that was leftover; lock Vegeta in the Gravity Room; and sleep in a sleeping bag on the ground. Sometimes they would have sex in the morning, after breakfast; sometimes as a break for lunch. Sometimes Bulma would stay up and watch the black wolf pacing inside its cage.

Now, she was traipsing through the woods once again, eyes locked on the radar as the slight blip on to the top of the grid told her the dragonball was right in front of her. As she walked, the blip slowly relocated to the center of the screen. When it was exactly in the middle, Bulma looked up, come face to face with the mouth of a nicely sized cave.

She hesitated, remembering her last run-in in the woods. Anything could occupy this cave, and it was most likely some predator knowing her luck. With a deep breath, Bulma entered the cave; intent on getting the dragonball and getting right back out.

She’d not taken but two steps inside when a low growl sounded. Envisioning huge black bears, she immediately stilled, eyes wide as she tried to peer into the inky blackness. It did not take long for her curiosity and fear to be given a visual.

Steeping into the little light that Bulma herself stood in, the gray wolf raised her head, scenting toward the intruder to her den. Her lips curled in a snarl as yellow eyes lit with malice. This was a human, an enemy in her den. She would protect her home and life.

Bulma gaped at the wolf, her memories of Vegeta as such making her somewhat thrown off by the real thing; not that Vegeta wasn’t real, but as a wolf? It wasn’t Vegeta.

This, this was a wolf. One who wouldn’t suddenly become a person judging by the size of it. Werewolves were slightly larger than regular wolves and why was she thinking of this when the wolf was crouched down and slinking at her, a low growl rumbling in its throat?

Giving out a shriek similar to the one proclaimed during the bear run-in, Bulma turned and ran; sprinting out of the cave and hearing the wolf’s paws suddenly strike the ground as it leapt forward and gave chase.

As if her luck couldn’t get any worse, Bulma felt her foot twist on an odd rock in her path. As she crashed to the ground, she had the idle question of why exactly she always fell during these chase scenes.

She rolled around to catch a glimpse of the gray wolf leaping right at her and covered her eyes with both hands, not even able to scream so sudden was the attack. Behind the blackness of her hands she heard a thump and a muffled yelp. More sounds; scraps, snarls, whines, and shuffling; cut the night before Bulma lowered her hand, her eyes widened to twice their own size.

A huge, black wolf was tussling with the gray one, rolling her beneath it and taking the ruff of the wolf’s fur under her neck, pulling slightly. The gray wolf immediately stilled, letting out a low mewling that sounded exactly as Bulma would’ve imagined a person pleading for their life would’ve.

The black wolf seemed to hover over the smaller one, letting out a growl around the mouthful of fur it held. The other merely raised its whining a pitch, still not moving and tail tucked securely into her stomach.

Finally, with Bulma just rising to rest on her elbows, the black wolf released the other, watching with impassive golden eyes as she jumped up and took two faltering steps backwards. Finally, with one last lip-raised snarl, the female wolf turned and fled.

Bulma was frozen as the black wolf slowly turned to her, as golden eyes the color of the sun’s rays locked onto her. One paw was raised, head lowering slightly to be even with his shoulders. The other paw came up as the first lowered, its tail stuck straight out behind it. Bulma had the distinct impression she was being stalked.

As she moved a cramping hand, the upper lip of the wolf in front of her curled and a low rumble sounded. Her eyes widened and she felt herself trembling as it continued to growl lowly, still approaching her.

Quietly, so quietly she almost didn’t hear herself, she whispered into the air between them. “Vegeta?”

The wolf completely halted, ears pricking as it looked at her. Then it raised its nose slightly, taking in air and letting it back out in a huff. Tilting its head to the side, it continued, head completely lowered this time, but eyes still keeping contact with her own.

Bulma literally held her breath as the wolf stopped inches from her, tensing all her muscles in anticipation of anything. Cautiously, the wolf inched its head forward, sniffing the air around her and then sniffing her herself as it pressed its nose into her clothes. Then it silently sat back on his haunches, watching her expectantly.

Bulma let out the breath she’d been holding slowly and moved her hand, wincing at its stiffened condition. The wolf merely blinked at her, staying where it was.

After a minute of the wolf doing nothing, Bulma laboriously climbed to her feet. Still the wolf did nothing. Obviously, this was Vegeta. But she had locked the Gravity Room, hadn’t she? Suddenly she couldn’t remember doing that.

She kept her eyes on the wolf—on Vegeta, and moved to the right, those shining eyes following her as she walked back toward the cave. She stopped completely as the wolf rose and turned to her. It too stilled and she suddenly realized that he could tell she was afraid of him. He was trying to be as non-threatening as possible.

Hoping she was right, Bulma again walked toward the cave, still keeping an eye on the wolf. After a few steps, the wolf started to walk after her. This time she did not stop or react, just hurried into the cave.

There, just in the entrance, placed in a nook on the side of the cave, was the dragonball she looked for. Letting out a sigh of relief, she grabbed it and turned around. The wolf stilled once again; then slowly backed out of the cave and to his left, so she could pass. As she walked past the wolf, she had the odd wish that Vegeta was this polite. He would’ve reveled in scaring her to death.

She made her way back to the campsite, the wolf—and she was finding it difficult to call him Vegeta—following her like an obedient dog followed its master. She stopped in front of the Gravity Room, seeing that the door was open. She hadn’t locked it. He’d gotten near the door and it had automatically opened. She couldn’t be too angry with herself for forgetting. She might be wolf food otherwise.

She opened the door and turned to the wolf, who looked at her and then the door that slid open passively. Without another look at her, the wolf entered the room. This time, when the door shut, Bulma made sure she locked it.

Numbly, she put the sixth dragonball with the others and crawled into bed, deciding not thinking about what had happened would just make it all better. It would be over with tomorrow.

* * *

Her senses had just awoken to that fact that it was day, and very late in the day, when she heard a strange noise. She started to rise, only to be pushed back down as insistent fingers moved across her clothes now revealed by the unzipping of her sleeping bag.

She opened her eyes and stared up at the concentrated gaze of Vegeta, which was centered where his hands roamed. He spoke without looking at her. “Got the last one.”

Bulma was completely awake now, trying to ignore the sensation centered down below when Vegeta’s hands went under her shirt and skimmed over her stomach. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

He met her eyes this time, smirking devilishly as his fingers increased their pressure and shifted lower. Bulma couldn’t stop her breath hitching in her throat. “I wanted you to have plenty of energy.” His fingers stopped at the hem of her panties, pulling the elastic out and snapping it back into place.

Bulma let out a yelp and glared at the still smirking Saiyan. Seeming unmoved by her look, he moved from her side, leaving her cold and wanting. Judging from what she could see now that he standing, he was wanting too.

Vegeta watched her slowly rise, climbing out of the sleeping bag and still glaring at him. He chuckled before turning on his heel back to where the packs lay. “Lunch is ready.”

Bulma almost fell over trying to unwrap the sleeping bag from her legs. “You made it?”

Vegeta turned, walking backwards to the fire and frowning at the now freed woman. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Bulma rolled her eyes and tried to shove the hem of her shirt down further as Vegeta trailed a look down her, smirking. “It means, you sex-aholic, that you can’t cook and I don’t want to die from whatever you fixed.”

Vegeta stopped and blinked innocently at Bulma, which caused her to raise a brow. “But, woman, wouldn’t poisoning you be detrimental to the sex-aholic thing?” Before she could retort, he continued. “Come eat. You had pre-cooked stuff. Some kind of bean substance with meat shaped in cylinders.” He winkled his nose as he turned and knelt before said items. “They don’t smell good either.”

She knelt down beside him and picked up a can of the beans with wieners, getting a spoon as well. “You’re supposed to doctor it up. Put ketchup in it; heat it up, maybe a little brown sugar.”

Vegeta managed to wrinkle his whole face after taking one bite. “Bland.”

Bulma giggled and forced down her own canister as fast as possible. “Mm-hm. Hence the doctoring. Say, if you could use the dragonball radar, why was I dragged along to suffer bad food and a sleeping bag?”

Vegeta moved onto the tenth can, a growing heap of empty ones piling up beside him. “Gravity Room. Lock me in it. Remember?” The stilted sentences were produced in between shovelfuls of food.

Bulma suddenly went very silent, concentrating on her food much too eagerly. Of course, Vegeta immediately noticed. And who wouldn’t notice a person that almost talked twenty-four-seven not saying anything?

“What?” He stopped eating enough to divert his whole attention on her, even going so far as to halfway put down the food.

Bulma started. “Huh? What? Nothing.”

Vegeta couldn’t stop the snort at the hurried words and slightly dazed look Bulma was giving him. “Woman, you keep secrets as good as Kakarott kills. Spill.”

Bulma sighed, ignoring the reference toward her best friend that should have been a compliment. “I ran into some complications getting the dragonball last night. You don’t—”

Her sudden halt made Vegeta lean forward slightly, his dark eyebrows furrowing over even darker eyes. “What complications?” His voice was almost a rough growl. He hadn’t sensed any wounds on her; no scent of blood, no other animal scents. However, the way her eyes suddenly shifted away from him, the way her whole body tensed up…. There was something she didn’t want to tell him and though he had a sudden urge to yell and shake her, he thought it was time to employ some new tactics.

Bulma almost choked on the food she had just put in her mouth when Vegeta leaned forward and took her in a crushing kiss, sucking the food right out of her mouth and into his. He drew back, smacking his lips purposefully and raking his tongue slowly over them for the gaped-mouthed woman’s benefit.

“You know, woman, you’re right. Doctoring is just what it needed. Now,” Putting down his own food, Bulma could only watch apprehensively as Vegeta again leaned forward, this time almost seeming to stalk her. It reminded her so much of the wolf, “what was this about—” A heady pause laced the air as Vegeta practically hovered above her, “—complications?”

He watched with half-lidded eyes as she sucked in a breath, noting with a bit of smugness that from the time he had kissed her until now, she hadn’t been breathing. Now she was, and it was almost a heavy pant that hit his neck in even draws. “Woman….”

Bulma blinked, coming out of the trance she had been in as she traced the body of the man above her with wide eyes. “What?”

Vegeta sighed, lowering himself slowly until his body barely brushed her own. His head lowered and veered from her lips at the last moment. Bulma gulped as his voice reached her, his whispering like a caress against her ear. “What complications?”

She answered without even realizing she was doing so. “The dragonball was in a cave. A wolf was in a cave. It—” She blinked again as the weight was lifted, feeling cold without his warmth on her. However, it cleared her head enough to catch her words. “It ran away. Just shocked me I guess.”

Vegeta arched a brow, sitting back down and picking up his food again. “It just ran away. A wolf? After you entered what we can assume was its home?”

Bulma shrugged, frowning. If the man thought he was getting any more information for that after the stunt he’d pulled, he was in for a surprise. “You’re the wolf. Tell me.”

Vegeta half-lowered his food to glare at her. “I am not a wolf. It’s temporary. As soon as we wish it away, it will be gone and I can—” His brows furrowed then.

“What? You can what, Vegeta?”

At her slightly anxious tone, Vegeta’s head came up from where it had been studying the ground in front of him. “Well, I’m done. Let’s get this over with, woman.”

Both eyebrows rose as the importance of his very bad change of subject hit her. He lived to become stronger than Goku. He lived to reach Super Saiyan. He lived to train and fight. Yet how much of that had he been doing? How little had he seemed to care? What if all this—with him, was a result of the wolf and not really Vegeta? That meant—

She rolled her shoulders, as if rolling the thought away. It was just sex. It would end. It would have to. So what if it ended after today? Standing without replying to Vegeta, she moved to where the seven dragonballs were gathered, staring down at them with a hint of trepidation she wouldn’t admit to.

“Well, woman? Wish me back to normal.”

She turned at the voice near her ear and drank in the sight of a cross-armed Vegeta, blue bodysuit stretched over layers of muscle and sinew; hard, angular face looking just confused enough to seem hostile. “Yes….”

At the almost hissed word, Vegeta tilted his head, a slow smirk forming. “Now or later?”

She let her eyes deliberately trail over Vegeta’s form, noting the tight state of his lower regions as her eyes lingered there. She took a determined step forward, body barely brushing his own and almost forcing a moan from her lips. One hand trailed down to the seam of his pants, caressing what she found there. She circled it; then came back up to covered abs. On the way back down, she lightly raked over his flesh with her fingernails.

And that was where Vegeta’s intake of breath came into play, causing her head to come up and meet his black eyes, which seemed to be burning. The smirk that played across his mouth proved to be irresistible, but managed to stay itself even as Bulma tried to erase it with her lips.

Her hand began a frantic pace with him, but it didn’t seem to be enough, no matter how hard Vegeta pushed himself into the contact and stifled grunts and groans. She broke off, not able to stop a grin at his moan at the loss of contact.

He growled lowly at her, pushing himself into her until he realized she was trying to free him, unsuccessfully.

He chuckled as her hands worked futilely, trying to find some hidden catch that would undo him fast and efficiently. He finally decided to have mercy on her and him and stepped out of her reach, chuckling again at her frown and whine.

He stripped out of his bodysuit, not being patient enough to tease her by going slowly. He wanted her now, right now, no waits.

Bulma however, did not have the same plan. She stayed where she was, blue eyes literally devouring the prince where he stood in all his natural grace. She admired slowly the layers of muscle laid over the compact frame of the smaller-than-average Saiyan, wondering why she had never noticed before how good he looked. Like raw and primal need thrust into a deadly package that could crush whole planets with one blow.

And she had no idea why that suddenly had her panting in a wanton abandon that was as primitive as the man before her.

Vegeta paused in the look the woman was giving him, realizing they had never really taken the time to admire the other as she was doing to him now. Underneath her eyes, he felt—something. The way she looked at him…. Certainly no one else had ever done so. It made him feel…good.

Lightly purring, he stepped toward the other, watching her blink out of her inspection and meet his eyes with her own. He waved a hand silently at her as he stopped mere inches from her.

Bulma caught her breath, realizing Vegeta wanted her to— And there came a blush she didn’t know she still had in her.

Taking a deep breath, she raised her shirt above her head, hiding her blush and giving her time to capture the heat that had flushed her face back into her body. As she brought the shirt over her head and down, that same heat hit her full force as the look in obsidian eyes ignited at the sight of her.

Vegeta growled lowly in his throat as she was partially revealed to him. He had no idea why the women of this world all needed those cups of cloth, though it seemed to lift them up a bit. Still, it was quite—irritable when combined with his need to see all of this woman; to drink in the sight of her until there was nothing left.

Bulma watched as his hands rose slowly, cupping toward her. She moved slightly; only a hand rose toward the clothing he himself reached for; and he stilled, nodding for her to continue, the arms lowering with quiet restraint.

Bulma let out the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding as his hands lowered and she was free to remove the rest of her clothing. She did so quickly; knowing neither of them had the patience to do any sort of teasing. Suddenly, this had turned serious, and both could sense it, as if it was a taste in the air between their lips.

Vegeta’s black eyes scanned her body, feeling like a dark caress to the woman who was being inspected. He took in a shaky breath, going over the round curves and hints of musculature in the woman before him. He’d never seen such pale skin before, never noticed how her hair curled just right, to accentuate her hips that cried for hands to cup them; a body that screamed to be held and worshipped.

With one movement, he was doing just that, hands touching everywhere his eyes had roamed, so thoroughly that Bulma could not move for the sensation. Instead, her head feel forward, lips finding the junction between shoulder and neck and pressing there as if giving silent thanks.

Vegeta let out a small sound, his own head resting on the woman’s shoulder as his hands continued to move across her body in feather-light touches that were driving Bulma nuts. Eager to make him do more than just barely brush her skin, Bulma started her own assault.

Vegeta head jerked back up as he felt the woman’s hands start a downward path on his back, knowing where they were heading. One part of him screamed at him to stop her, while another was content to just still and allow the pleasure that bordered on a sweet pain to envelope him when she touched him there.

It was his indecision that decided for him as Bulma’s fingers lightly pressed onto the place his tail had once been; nothing but a scrap of a stub left from the slice of a sword. A low groan fled from pressed lips as the fingers continued to swirl around and onto the sweet spot, Vegeta’s hips rotating and pressing into Bulma’s in perfect sync with her own movements.

Bulma hissed breath from between her teeth and raised her head to capture the Prince’s lips, immediately assaulting him as her tongue curled around his own and pulled it into her mouth, practically inhaling it.

That was the border for Vegeta’s control. Wrenching her away from him, he cradled her at the back of her head and the small of her back, staring with something akin to wonderment at this captivating creature that seemingly could do anything with him she wanted—and….

Vegeta’s eyes rolled to the back of his head as both of Bulma’s hands met at his center, wrapping around him and gently pulling in smooth and long strokes. The purr that had been lightly rumbling his chest now erupted into a sound that made Bulma’s eyes grow half-lidded from pleasure at the vibration and sound.

Vegeta lowered his head to anything of Bulma that his lips could touch, showing her his appreciation as she had showed him hers earlier. He didn’t think he could hold himself back much longer. He didn’t think he’d even been trying to hold himself back, so intense was it this time.

He wanted nothing more than to feel her incase him, to let go inside of her, as if he was giving a piece of himself. He wanted to give her a piece of himself. He trusted her.

His eyes popped open as far as they could go as the thought firmly entrenched itself in his mind. He trusted her.

Blue eyes met black as they read each other in that moment as they never had before. Bulma let go of Vegeta at the same time as Vegeta lowered her to the ground gently. They still stared into each other’s eyes as he entered her, her breath hitching as the hollow ache was suddenly filled, his breath catching as he was surrounded by her warmth.

It was over much too soon, neither one feeling an inch of regret as they both came at the same time, yelling the other’s name into the empty wilderness. They’d both been held back for much too long to regret their subsequent completions.

Bulma curled instinctively around Vegeta, wrapping her limbs around his as if afraid he would simply fade away if she didn’t hold onto him. Vegeta’s arms wrapped around her trembling form, eyes still wide as his tired mind tried to deduce what had passed between them in those last moments. It had been foreign…and—nice.

A slight sigh from the woman being held in strong, sturdy arms was the only sound for long moments as both rested, heartbeats regulating, breathing slowing.

Vegeta moved, feeling muscles warm and content protesting, insisting he simply close his eyes and enjoy the moment of warmth, without any of the attachments that usually dogged his life. He needed to—

Looking down at the woman looking up at his form hovering half-risen above her, he stared for a long moment into blue eyes, knowing they mirrored his own confusion. Choosing not to speak, he rose fully, disentangling the woman from around him. He picked up his body suit and slowly dressed, hearing the woman silently getting up and following his lead with her own clothes.

He turned to her once he was sure she was done, not meeting her eyes, but instead glancing behind her at the dragonballs that still rested on the ground. A slight frown blemished once relaxed features at the reminder they presented. He silently waited, standing with his arms lax beside him.

Bulma took the hint faster than she would have expected after whatever had happened had happened. She didn’t think she wanted to think about it any more than Vegeta seemed to. Right. The dragon.

Turning, she faced the dragonballs and intoned the words that would bring out their own form of a genie. “Shenlong! Arise and grant my wish!”

A bright light filled their surroundings to the point where both man and woman had to look away. The dragonballs seemed to burst where they were on the ground in a ball of whiteness that shot upwards toward the sky, swirling serpentine through the clouds that gathered and darkened the sky to a night-like quality.

The light slowly faded from the dragonballs and the form hidden within the sinuous strip of light that they had produced; leaving a huge, green dragon in their wake. The power from the creature’s size and poise was alone enough to make even Vegeta stare up in awe.

The voice made the ground beneath both present tremble in its bass quality. “ **What do you wish, mortal?** ”

Bulma stared blankly up at the dragon for a bit before blinking at it, blue eyes not quite able to meet the ruby ones that bored into her. “Dragon, I wish for you to rid Vegeta of his lycanthropy.”

There was a huge pause from the beast as it considered the woman’s request, checking all the variables of the problem to be solved. Finally, it nodded its shaggy head solemnly. “ **Your wish cannot be granted.** ”

Bulma heard the gasp of surprise and anger from behind her over the sudden pounding of her heart. “What? Why?”

The dragon again considered the question; then proclaimed in a voice that brooked no doubt or response, “ **Vegeta is dead**.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ROFLMBO Yep. You have won, you-know-who-you-are. Any guesses? *leaves the room still chuckling*
> 
> Ah, that last sex scene? Whew. I’m thinking that’s my best yet right there. Inspired by Evanescence’s Haunted. If you haven’t heard them yet, you need to. IMO, they rock! If you have it, play it and then go back and read the last sex scene. See what I mean? Lol
> 
> Vegeta’s lover: ß You are? Coolness! So, how long do you guys last? Lol *sigh* You people with your low self esteem. Actually that is a good question. *shrugs* I think I have to figure that one out myself…. ^_~
> 
> Lupa: There is no moon. *gg* Well girl. I’ll be emailing you….
> 
> JadedBest: Have I scarred the boy for life now. *smirk* Told you you’d regret having him as a co-reviewer. Poor thing. I think I edu-ma-cated him a bit too much, eh? Lol
> 
> Elbereth in April: Interesting indeed. I think they just got Fu—ed.
> 
> Susan: Yep. He was a wolf…. Um, waitaminute. How can—? Oh. Guess again.


	8. Chapter 8

Bulma stared for a long, silent moment, blanking looking up at the hulking form of the impatient green dragon. She then turned her head, gazing at the quite alive and real form of the man behind her. He was staring at the dragon with something akin to a murderous rage. She quickly turned back to the dragon, eager to get this little misunderstanding cleared up before Vegeta killed the dragon, literally.

“Um, Shenlong, I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but—Vegeta’s right there.” She pointed back to the man she knew was still simmering, praying he would let her take care of this. She was surprised he was this silent to begin with.

The dragon cast an uncaring eye over the man she pointed out; then looked back down at her. “ **He is and is not Vegeta**.”

Bulma again paused. Then decided she would take a deep breath and handle this one problem at a time. “In order to properly make our wish, I’m going to have to ask you how he is and is not Vegeta.”

The dragon let out a long-suffering sigh that Vegeta ground his teeth on. He was barely able to hold himself in check and let the woman handle this; to not execute the dragon for such blasphemy. She was truly a diplomat. He would’ve killed the dragon three times over by now….

“ **I can sense life-forces as you probably know, human. This life-force** ,” a talon indicated Vegeta, “ **passed away fourteen days ago**.”

Bulma did some quick calculations, her eyes widening as she realized that was a week before she had found out about the whole thing. Vegeta had been—dead more than a week before they had…?

The dragon continued, disregarding the now numb look on the human’s face. “ **Another life-force, a wolf, took the other life-forces form, as a mean of survival. I believe this species of wolves that can do so is known as goblin-wolves. Every night the wolf changes into its original form, and every day it lives out its life as the one that died.** ”

Bulma’s mouth opened as she tried to process all of this, unsuccessfully if Vegeta could read anything. Vegeta himself was not so paralyzed.

Bulma blinked as a blue and black form whizzed by her. Oh no! Vegeta wouldn’t….

Coming to a standstill before the dragon’s eyes, Vegeta’s face was a mask of rage and disbelief. “You lie! You will change me back now, dragon, or I’ll….” His voice trailed off on the threat. For the first time, he wasn’t sure if he could actually deliver. He was—in doubt. Could the dragon lie?

The dragon himself seemed not the least bit threatened or deterred from his decrees. “ **What do you wish me to change you back to? Wolf or man?** ”

There was an impossibly long moment where Bulma stared up at the man floating before the dragon who looked back at him impassively. She made a sound, surely not loud enough for the Saiyan to hear, as Vegeta suddenly spun away and vanished into the air, away from both woman and dragon.

The dragon turned its attention back to the woman as if Vegeta had never spoken; red eyes boring into her. “ **What is your wish?** ”

Bulma blinked. What should she wish? Vegeta was—dead. That—the Vegeta that she had been—he wasn’t Vegeta. He was a wolf. But he acted like Vegeta, talked like Vegeta—yet he didn’t. She remembered his reluctance to answer her when she asked him what he was going to do. His training had been cut down by his transformations, yet she hadn’t sensed the need to transform to Super Saiyan, to beat the other Saiyan who had reached the goal he hadn’t.

“ **Human, what is your wish?** ”

Bulma stood akimbo before the dragon, putting on her best glare. “Can you give me a minute, please? It’s not every day you find out your lover isn’t who you thought he was.”

The dragon actually blinked at the human and closed its huge jaw shut, waiting as patiently as any celestial-like being can, partially because of the information he hadn’t needed to know. What dragon wanted to think of two mortals mating?

Bulma, ignorant of the dragon’s awkwardness, continued to think. But wasn’t Vegeta who she thought he was? He had all of Vegeta’s experiences and memories and personality and everything that would make a person a person, right? Bulma shook her head, silently cursing the Saiyan Prince for leaving, though she understood. She couldn’t imagine how she’d react to finding out she wasn’t her.

Putting a hand to her temple, Bulma tried to will away her headache. Truth be told, she couldn’t make any wish without Vegeta’s consent. It simply wouldn’t be fair. She couldn’t wish the real Vegeta back without this Vegeta’s permission and she couldn’t wish away the wolf part because this Vegeta was the wolf.

Sighing, she looked up at the dragon. “Sorry, Shenlong. Afraid I’ll have to take a rain-check. I have to confirm all this with Vegeta before any wish can be made that will affect him.” She didn’t know if the dragon understood all she had said; or cared; but at least he had understood the ‘rain-check’ part, for with a bright flash the dragon shrank back into the dragonballs. The balls themselves rose into the air, and with another bright flash Bulma had to shield her eyes from, took off in all different directions.

Bulma looked around at the now empty clearing, feeling strangely alone now. She hoped Vegeta would come back to Capsule Corporation, as she was sure he wasn’t there right now. And back to Capsule Corporation was where she had to go.

Pushing back whatever feelings wanted to surface in the wake of this disaster, Bulma turned and began to pack up.

He didn’t care where he was going or what he would do when he got there. He knew he had a destination, but his mind had checked out for the moment, not wanting to be presented with such complicated matters as not being himself.

So it was that he soon landed in a small clearing in the forest behind Capsule Corporation, blinking out of his mind-numbing trance and looking around. He made a small noise of discovery in the back of his throat. He was here. This was the place where he had come to train fourteen days ago, away from all distractions, to become Super Saiyan and beat that third-class idiot Kakarott into the ground.

And this was the place—

What had happened here? He sat down cross-legged on the ground unconsciously. He’d been hunting for some food, not even knowing at the time that the Briefs had made this a no-hunting zone. Besides, he wasn’t going to waste any of the animal or sell its parts. When Saiyans ate, they ate. Carrion feeders were lucky to get an eyeball out of a Saiyan meal.

He was hunting a strange cat-like creature; he’d thought he’d heard it referred to as a bobcat; and was successfully gaining on it, trapping it into a corner where it would then have to fight or die. Oh, it was going to die, but he expected a fight, and that always heated his blood.

He had cornered the creature in the dead end of some canyon-like terrain, the walls too high for the cat to scale, beaten it when bare fists, and was tearing into it when he had heard a growling sound from above. He’d looked up, surprise on his features that anything could sneak up on him, seen a blur of black rushing down at him and—

And what? His brow furrowed as he tried to remember. What had happened afterwards? He lowered his head onto hands propped on his knees. He couldn’t remember. So it must have happened then. He must have…died.

He raised his head, eyes scanning the area. Slowly, he rose, locking onto the exact path he had taken in tracking the animal. Step by step, he followed his own progress from memory, smelling the fear-scent, hearing the padded paws hitting the ground. He entered the canyon, feeling the walls as if they were closing in on him. And indeed, his breath quickened and became a harsh pant to his own ears.

He stopped completely as soon as he spied the dead end, his legs not wanting to budge, to go that last distance. His brow furrowed again. Why was he hesitant? Nothing bad had happened—

His eyes widened in realization. These weren’t his memories making him feel like this, these were the wolf’s. Steeling himself with all the Saiyan pride and endurance that had gotten him through Frieza’s rule, Vegeta took the final steps to the wall before him. He ran gloved fingers over it lightly, as if trying to smooth out the bumps and minor crevasses that pierced it. Nothing happened. All was quiet in the forest and in himself.

Frowning lightly, almost growling in frustration, Vegeta knelt down where he stood. He’d have to do this the hard way then. Closing his eyes, the Saiyan Prince reached down into his subconscious, pulling at the memories there to make them real. It was not Vegeta’s memories that met him.

_He was running through the woods, something following him and braying his eventual capture for the man directly behind to hear. He kept running; panting, a stitch in his side. He knew there was a cliff-like structure ahead of him. If he could make it there, he would lose the braying thing. The man could shoot at him, but there were twists and turns, he’d be lost to sight; free._

_He could almost feel the hot breath of the other behind him, hear the snapping jaws. He would have turned and fought the thing, he had already in fact. He had been holding his own, fighting down the thing like him but with that hated man-stench, when the man himself had let out a cracking sound and a tearing pain had gone through his side. Now that same wound bled freely as he ran, tongue lolling out dangerously._

_There! There was the drop just a few feet in front of him. He leapt for it, feeling the snap of jaws as the other leapt at the same time and just missed him. He skidded down the slope, knowing the other would have to stop and think of its next move._

_He skidded down the slope right into something else._

_Both of them landed in a heap at the bottom of the slope, the one beneath him letting out a growl and swinging at him, hitting him directly in his injured side. With a yelp, he rolled off the one he had landed on, trying to get his feet under him. He’d never smelled such a scent as was coming off it. He was wary but not afraid._

_He had barely gotten his feet underneath him, quaking though they were, and looked at the creature that was looking at him when the braying of the one above brought the man right to where they both were._

_The wolf discounted the one in front of him immediately. The real danger was up there. If this one, who looked man and yet didn’t smell it, had wanted to kill him, it would have done so already. Strangely, the man above only gave him one look before turning to the other._

_Strange words came out the man’s mouth and the other answered in kind. Whatever the other had said did not please the man, for he raised the thing that had shot out the pain that had earlier ripped through him. The wolf tensed immediately._

_Without even seeming to move, the other was suddenly in front of the man, wrenching the gun from its grip and throwing it down toward the wolf as he lifted the man up by his throat. The wolf immediately skipped back in alarm as the gun clattered at his paws, faltering in his step and feeling exhaustion send him crashing to the ground to pant harshly, able to do no more than watch the scene above._

_The one like him and not let out a barking growl and leapt at the not-man who held his master in a death-grip. Without even turning, the not-man struck out, a hand catching the dog in midair and flinging it to the side. The wolf heard a sickening thud as the dog literally wrapped around a tree trunk and thumped to the forest floor quite still and dead._

_It didn’t take long for the not-man to crush the throat of the one he held, ignoring whatever the man was saying, which sounded like whines to the wolf’s ear. The wolf levered itself up warily as the other floated down to where it was, black eyes locking onto golden. There was an understanding there; that of one who is both hunter and hunted. It was almost as if the wolf was looking into a kin’s eyes._

_As the not-man walked toward him on the canyon floor, there was the definite sound of a snap. The not-man’s eyes widened as the wolf himself gave a start at the very familiar sound, watching with gritted teeth as the not-man crashed to the ground in a half-upright position, ankle caught firmly in the man’s trap._

_He could smell the other’s blood as it seeped out and cautiously ventured toward the not-man, body parallel to the ground and nose almost touching the dirt, golden eyes looking up from furred eyeridges._

_As the other let out a definite growl in his direction, hand going back to grasp the wound, the wolf stilled, hearing the independent strain in the sound that spoke of pain. He sat back on his haunches. Frankly he was worried. If the not-man couldn’t chew his leg from the trap, he would starve to death…or dehydrate._

_The not-man seemed to have other ideas, and his teeth didn’t seem to be that sharp. He continued to grasp the wound and the metal surrounding it, eyes closing in what looked to the wolf to be concentration._

_The wolf sat up and backed as a strange glow surrounded the hand and wound, a smell he didn’t recognize but which raised his hackles permeating the air thickly. Whatever the not-man was doing, it was taking a great toll on his energy. He seemed to sway where he knelt, his face set in a grimace combined of pain and frustrated thought._

_The wolf jumped as the not-man cracked back his head, letting out a blood-curdling scream that made the wolf’s tail bush out crazily. It seemed to go on forever and made the wolf wished he could cover his ears. As it was, they were pressed flat against his skull, but even that did nothing to lessen the sharpness of the bellow of agony._

_Finally the scream died and the man crumbled to the ground, breath puffing out harshly. The wolf stood there for the longest moment, staring at the still not-man before moving slowly forward._

_The not-man’s head slowly rolled around to watch him, black eyes losing their luster the longer each breath took to come out of the slightly parted lips._

_The not-man was dying, the wolf knew, and did not wish to die._

_With more confident steps, the wolf approached, not backing down as the not-man growled out weakly, the sound raspy with the blood that was quickly filling his mouth. The not-man wouldn’t last much longer, but he had saved his life…. The not-man could have killed him. Instead, he had treated him as kin…and kin did not let kin die._

_He would perform the old ritual then. As alpha wolf—it was his duty and right. This not-man did not deserve such a dishonorable death, and the wolf had always wondered what it would be like to walk on two paws._

* * *

Vegeta blinked out of his meditation, staring blankly at the ground before him. He was the wolf? The dragon hadn’t been lying then. He was the wolf. The wolf—was him? Or was he even still here? The dragon had said he was dead…. Vegeta was dead.

* * *

The wind played with the curtains in Bulma’s room, skittering over the floor to curve up into an empty bed. Bulma herself sat in a chair in a corner of the room facing the window, praying that she was right; that Vegeta would come back—or the wolf would come back—or something.

She’d been thinking about it all evening and still hadn’t come to any conclusions about Vegeta’s—or the wolf’s—identity. Vegeta was dead. She’d been sleeping with a wolf. Or had she merely been sleeping with a wolf who believed himself to be Vegeta?

She frowned and pulled her legs up into the chair, wrapping her arms around her knees and wishing her slip covered more of her from the cool air. She’d still been sleeping with a wolf. But it was a man who had held her, a man who had—

She blushed as she recalled everything they had done. Her first time….

Most women, her mother included, swore that the first time was no big deal. The first would always be in a woman’s memories; a special place; but the first was hardly ever the one who stayed with them their whole life. For Bulma though…the first time, the look on Vegeta’s face as he realized she was a virgin, the feeling of him moving inside her fluidly and smoothly…. After the pain had vanished, she had to admit, it had been one of the greatest feelings she had ever experienced. Even the pain had been part of the pleasure.

Despite what Vegeta was or was not, he had given her what no other man had. She’d given him what she’d teased other men about. Her first time had been great, and her first….

She started at the silhouette crouched in the window, balanced on her sill and staring at her with a face hidden in shadow. She stayed very still, wondering how long he had been there while she reflected.

Slowly he put one foot and then the other on the carpeted floor, standing in her room without moving toward her. Bulma audibly gulped and unwrapped herself from the chair, rising and taking a couple steps toward him before stopping in uncertainty.

He just stood there; stone-still, silent; until she almost could imagine him not there at all. She was still in her chair, had fallen fast asleep, and would wake up from this dream and find herself alone, the wind the only thing that—

He moved then, sliding across the floor as if he knew the path his feet would take before they took them. It wasn’t until he was inches from her, heat pounding into her suddenly cold form, that she remembered she had to breathe to stay conscious.

She stared into black eyes that stared unblinkingly back, nothing written in either them or his cold and set face. It was almost as if he wasn’t there. If he hadn’t moved, she would’ve believed that.

Slowly, her hand reached up toward him, watching his eyes as they flickered toward the appendage and then back at her, still telling her nothing. It met his face, cupping his jawline and tracing it. What did she care if he was a wolf? He was her wolf.

“Vegeta.”

It was as if she had breathed life into him. His eyes suddenly lit with something unnamable. His hands were suddenly all over her, clasping and kneading and removing clothing that hindered him. His mouth descended on her own, her hand coming back to clasp in his hair and hold his warmth to her, threading through thick black strands and making sure he never came back up for air again.

Her other hand reached around his side, pulling him into her so that they stood fully against each other, cradled by their own curves and dips so comfortably Bulma could’ve fallen asleep standing there by him. If he wasn’t touching her like that.

It was she that drew back to let out the low, breathy moan of his name, pulling his face down to her chest, where his mouth and tongue continued to work, almost as if she were some delicacy he hadn’t tasted in years and wanted to enjoy all he could of. She felt—like she was special, like she was all his.

“I’m yours.”

Vegeta stilled, head coming back up and eyes wide as he took in the half-lidded look the woman was giving him. She blinked at the lack of contact. “Vegeta?”

He tilted his head to the side. “You know what the dragon said.”

She cocked a brow and frowned at him quizzically. “Yes. But I don’t care. You are you, no matter what anyone else thinks. If you believe yourself to be Vegeta, Prince of the Saiyans, destined to become Super Saiyan, you are.” She pulled back slightly, hands coming to his shoulders. “Do you believe that, Vegeta?”

He ran his eyes over her form; clad in nothing now that he had removed everything. “This may not have happened if—”

A finger on his lips silenced him in shock. “But it did. I am glad it did, Vegeta. I wouldn’t have wanted anything else to happen. I don’t care whether you believe it or not. I do believe it.”

Again his black eyes bored into her, as if he could hardly trust himself, let alone her. She set her own eyes down. He didn’t believe it seemed. Well, she’d just have to prove it to him.

Her hands came of their own accord to his shirt, fisting the blue, skintight material and leaning in to put her lips on his skin, tongue running everywhere it could in an effort to taste the salt of the faint sheen of sweat that clung to it. His head tilted to one side, the throat moving under her with a deep vibration as Vegeta’s eyes closed halfway, staring at nothing in front of him as the woman pushed the turtleneck-like shirt down with deft hands and continued. He could feel the strain of the shirt on his neck, but did nothing to stop her as it ripped underneath fingernails and pressure.

Bulma followed the tear all the way down to his hips before pushing the material off on both sides and continuing to attack him with hands as well as tongue. She heard the moan she finally wanted from the man above her and smirked, letting go of him completely and moving to the bed.

Vegeta’s eyes snapped open as Bulma’s warm body was suddenly gone, leaving the air blowing in to highlight every inch of him she had touched with coldness. He snapped his head around to look at her, eyes misting with lust as he watched her lay herself on the bed, turning to look at him with what could only be a ‘come-hither’ gaze.

He was not a stupid man. Quickly kicking off his boots, climbing out of his pants, and tossing his gloves to the side, Vegeta joined her, watching as the woman’s smile grew with excitement as he slowly inched toward her.

He practically purred as she impatiently met him halfway, lips clashing his own as she slid her tongue into his mouth and darted inside and back out. He mimicked her, pulling her body into his so that their warmth echoed and rebounded against their bodies, the heat becoming so unbearable that they made noises of appreciation in unison from it as well as each other’s actions.

Vegeta broke apart and laid his head on her shoulder, panting as he tried to thrust into her in his upright position. Of course, that hardly worked, and he found himself being pulled by the shoulders on top of the woman, sighing as he draped over her.

Bulma clenched her teeth and raised herself up, encouraging him. As he sank down even further, right before her entrance, she leaned her head up. “I’m yours.”

A shudder wracked Vegeta’s body as the whisper lingered in his ear. He pushed in with no hesitation, moving quickly to rid both him and her of the aching, almost numbing need that consumed them.

Bulma clung to him, nails raking against his back as he relentlessly moved within her, eyes half-closed with the delicious heat that rose and rose inside her until she thought she’d have to scream to release it.

And scream she did, tightening around him almost painfully as her nails dug into his back until he bled. He joined her not a second later; the added pressure too much for his arousal to take without exploding; calling her name so loudly the windows in their panes shook.

Holding himself up on trembling arms, he looked down into the face of the flushed woman who had just given herself, wholly, to him. He had not accepted her; he had not given himself in return; he had done nothing that would even befit such a gift. Yet she had done it, and as her eyes closed, he had a feeling she would not be taking it back; ever.

He let himself fall to the side of her, gathering her now peacefully sleeping form near him and staring at the ceiling, waiting for sleep that would not come to claim him.

Epilogue

The birds were singing and Bulma was in no mood to listen to them. Feeling a cold chill creep up her spine, she let out a groan of denial and reached down blindly for the covers with one hand, pulling them up till they were under her chin.

Suddenly jerking upright, Bulma’s hand came down on the pillow beside her, finding not even any warmth to tell her that last night hadn’t been anything other than a fantastical dream. However, as her hand grasped the pillow cover convulsively in denial, something did crumple underneath her fingers, making a distinct crackling sound that Bulma recognized.

With a half-excitement, half-dread, Bulma lifted the folded piece of paper from the pillow and unfolded it, eyes scanning the flowery script with raised eyebrows before the words actually focused.

_I have taken the gravity room to train. I expect you to have dinner ready when I return for the baby’s birth. Get rid of the wolf._

Bulma stared for a long moment at the words, short and concise, before leaping out of bed and dashing to the still-open window. Sure enough, the gravity room was gone; four, round burn marks the only indication that it been there and then been launched into space.

He had left her to train in space. She thought that over for quite a bit, standing there with the sun hitting her comfortably, before she decided that she’d almost seen this coming. Despite what had happened last night, Vegeta still did not believe he was himself. He hadn’t refused her, in words or deeds, when she’d given herself to him, but she hardly expected him to say the same back to her. This was Vegeta after all, despite the wolf.

Which he wanted wished away. She wondered what exactly had happened to him—to the other Vegeta—that had caused this. She could ask the dragon….

No, Vegeta knew what had happened and had not told her for his own reasons. It was his story to tell, not some emotionless celestial-like being’s. She guessed she would never know unless he himself told her. And she just couldn’t see Vegeta ever doing that.

She sighed as she looked at the burn marks. What else? Well, she had to re-gather the dragonballs, and take care of the ba—

The shriek that came out of the woman’s mouth was enough to make the black bear in the woods outside Capsule Corporation falter in his search for fresh berries.

“BABY?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was the end. Yes, that is my version of the three-year period. Not canon, but certainly not alternate universe either. Hey, it could’ve happened. It’s just highly improbable. I do hope the explanation for Vegeta’s death was clear enough. Remember the earlier scene of the trap? It’s just hard telling you that from the wolf’s POV. Oh, you want to know where I found the legend and everything? Here’s the excerpt from the page.
> 
> “There may have been a more general belief, of old, that like the goblin-cat the wolf could take the shape of a person that he had previously devoured, and live in the family, for some nefarious purpose, in his or her shape. I have, however, only come across one such legend, which still survives in the mountainous district between Iyo and Tosa in Shikoku.
> 
> There a samurai, walking along a mountain road at night was attacked by a troop of wolves, but his fearless defense sent them scuttling away. Shortly afterwards the same troop came again, this time every beast carried, on his head, like a helmet, an iron pot such as used for steaming the rice. The samurai again defended himself valiantly, cracking most of the pots with his sharp sword, so that the wolves again disappeared in the mist.-The second occurrence looked most suspicious to this warrior, and he though that probably the goblin-wolves had obtained the pots from some nearby iron-monger. He indeed found such a shop, and on enquiring had it confirmed by the owner that a good many of his kama had been found cracked for no apparent reason. Now the samurai's suspicions grew: "Did anyone in your family perhaps get hurt last night?", he asked. Yes it so happened that his old mother had an accident when she went to the privy during the night; [It was customary to have a flimsy small shed at some distance from the house, with a step or two leading to a platform below which was the cesspool] she had hurt her head, and was now in bed resting. So then the samurai desired to see her-and he at once drew his sword and cut off her head....The son naturally was greatly upset at this, but on hearing the explanation and remembering some of the queer acts of the old woman, he consented to wait for developments; and in fact, as was to be, the mothers corpse within 24 hours had turned into the carcass of a large and old wolf!-Since the animal had evidently been a bakemono goblin, they then looked everywhere under the floor of the house for possible misdeeds, and so found the bones of the real old mother, whom the wolf had eaten....[In most such legends the victim's remains are put away under the raised floor of the house. Since this is the place where decomposition would easiest become noticeable to the inhabitants, there would seem to be some obscure, deeper meaning in the choice of location. It appears to be a fact, however, that in most regions a dead infant was buried below the floor, not in a field or cemetery; possibly the idea was that a re-incarnation in a future baby would become easier.]”
> 
> Here’s the URL for the page: https://docu.tips/documents/the-goblin-fox-and-badger-and-other-witch-animals-of-japan-5c15c3523c959
> 
> And now, my last announcement: Congratulations, Lupa! You won! Your reach out onto a branch was dead-on right. And you were the only one. So, all of you who said ‘Vegeta is a wolf’, the wolf was Vegeta. I know, irking…. Imagine it; Vegeta was dead for a whole week before this fic began.
> 
> Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear Kahlan, happy birthday to me! *throws confetti* ^_^

**Author's Note:**

> No, you hentai’s! The scene in italics wasn’t what you think it was! Dag porn-people! (of which I am one!) Guesses anyone?


End file.
